Sir Robert William Cole (16 September 1926 – 8 January 2019)[2][3] was a senior Australian public servant.
[6]: 56 In 1944, he was conscripted in and served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II ending in service's postal division.
[6]: 56 In 1948, taking advantage of the Labor government's Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, he completed his high school years 11 and 12.
[6]: 56 He was seconded to the International Monetary Fund in 1957 and worked in Washington, D.C., until 1959, when he returned to the Treasury.
[6]: 56 He was director of the Bureau of Transport Economics from 1970 to 1972, and then took on various senior roles:[7] He met his wife Margaret Martin in Canberra and were married in November 1956.