Peter James Lawler was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 23 March 1921. He was educated at Marist Brothers and Christian Brothers schools and the St Stanislaus College, Bathurst. He gained a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney.
 
In 1947 he began his public service career joining the Department of Post-War Reconstruction as a research officer and economist. In 1951 he was promoted to Principal Research Officer with the Prime
Minister's Department. Between 1952 and 1953 he was with the Ecomonic Section of the British Cabinet Office in London. During the 1960s Lawler progressed in the Prime Minister's Department becoming a First Assistant Secretary in 1962 and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office in 1968. He was a member of the Advisory Council to CSIRO from approximately 1965 to 1967. In 1972 he became Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State.
 
From 1975 to March 1983 he was Secretary of the Department of Administrative Services. In addition to his departmental duties, in 1975 he served on the Interim Board of the Australian
Telecommunications Commission and was a Commissioner of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. From 1975 to 1978 Sir Peter was a member of the National Library of Australia Advisory Council. He remained with the Department of Administrative Services as a Special Advisor until he was appointed Ambassador to Ireland and
non-residential Ambassador to the Holy See in June 1983. Sir Peter retired from the Commonwealth Public Service in 1985.
 
While in Canberra in the late 1950s he became an active member of the local Australian Labor Party Branch. He was awarded an OBE in the early 1960s and was made a Knight Bachelor in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 1981. Since 1975 he has been a member of the Council of the Order of Australia and the Australian Decorations Advisory Committee.
 
Sir Peter has been married twice, his first wife having died in 1957. He has seven children.
 

Sources
 
1. Who's Who in Australia, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1985, 1988
2. Commonwealth Directory, 1967
3. Commonwealth Government Directory, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 
4. Commonwealth Gazettes, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1965 
5. The National Times, 20 October 1975, p 8
6. The Canberra Times, 15 June 1981, p 11
7. The Canberra Times, 26 March 1983, p 1
8. The Canberra Times, 11 May 1983, p 3
9. Prime Minister's Press Release, 25 March 1983

Agency associated with person unregistered

by 1965-? 1967: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
                Organisation Advisory Council - Member
   1975-  1978: National Library of Australia Council - Member
   1975-      : Australian Decorations Advisory Committee - Member
   1975-      : Council of the Order of Australia - Member