Keith Officer

Keith Officer was born on 2 October 1889 in Toorak, Melbourne.[1] He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and Melbourne University.[2]

Between 1914 and 1918, Officer served with the First Australian Imperial Force in Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium.[3]

From 1919 to 1923, Officer was a political officer of the British Colonial Service in Nigeria.[4]

He joined the Australian Department of External Affairs in 1927.[5]

In 1940, Officer was appointed councilor to the Australian legation in Japan,[6] second in command to Sir John Latham.[7] He was Charge d'Affaires in Tokyo when the Pacific War broke out.[8]

Between 1946 and 1948, Officer was Australian Minister to the Netherlands.[9][10] Officer was offered the post of Australian Minister to Moscow in 1947.[11]

In 1948, Officer was appointed Australian Ambassador to China.[12][13] He was recalled to Canberra in November 1949 to consult with the Department of External Affairs on the recognition of the Communist Government in China.[14]

Between 1950 and 1955 Officer was Australian Ambassador to France.[15] He retired from the Commonwealth Public Service at the end of March 1950.[15] His retirement prompted External Affairs Minister Richard Casey to write a letter touching on Officer's work, in which he said: "you can properly regard yourself not only as one of the founders of the Australian Foreign Service but as a model which men of succeeding generations can seek to emulate."[16]

In 1917, Officer was awarded the Military Cross.[17] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919.[18] In the 1950 Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor, for services as ambassador in Paris.[19]

• Fewster, Alan (2009). Trusty and Well Beloved: A life of Keith Officer, Australia's First Diplomat. Miegunyah Press. ISBN 9780522855937.