"If I am treasurer again in the not too distant future,restoring the independence and non-partisan nature of this most important body will be a very important priority for me."

Mr Gaetjens is set to take up his appointment from next Wednesday,but with an election set to occur within 10 months,his time as the nation's top economic bureaucrat,could be brief,depending on the election outcome.

Mr Gaetjens replaces outgoing Treasury secretary John Fraser,who himself succeeded Martin Parkinson,at the time considered too close to Labor by the newly minted Abbott government.

Dr Parkinson has since returned to head up the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,albeit with a new Liberal Prime Minister in office.

Only last month,Mr Gaetjens was announced as Australia's new ambassador to the OECD based in Paris. However that appointment was quickly superseded by the Treasury announcement.

Unveiling his selection for the Paris post,the government lauded Mr Gaetjens'economic credentials.

"Mr Gaetjens is currently the chief of staff to the Treasurer the Hon Scott Morrison MP,a role he also undertook for the Hon Peter Costello MP when he was treasurer. He previously served overseas as the inaugural director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Policy Support Unit,Singapore during 2008-2010,"Mr Morrison had said in a joint statement with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on June 4.

"Mr Gaetjens holds a graduate diploma in accounting from the University of Canberra and a Bachelor of arts (honours) economics and geography from Flinders University."