Patrick Shaw (diplomat)

Sir Patrick Shaw (18 September 191327 December 1975) was an Australian public servant and diplomat.

Shaw joined the Department of External Affairs in 1939. He worked in the Department's political section until 1941 when he was sent on his first overseas posting as third secretary in Australia's Tokyo legation. Shaw and other legation staff were taken as prisoners of war when war broke out.

In 1973, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced Shaw's appointment as Ambassador to the United States. While in the role, Shaw suffered a fatal heart attack. He died on 27 December 1975. Ambassador Shaw's wife, the Lady Catherine Helen Shaw, was a victim of a street attack in Washington, D.C., for which she received ex gratia remuneration from the United States Government.

Shaw's daughter, Karina Campbell (nee Shaw) followed her father in working in the Australian diplomatic service. Karina Campbell joined the then-Department of External Affairs in 1963 and later held a range of senior positions in the Department.