Sir Alec Seath Kirkbride (1897–1978) was a British diplomat, a proconsul, who served in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...
and
Palestine between 1920 and 1951.
Biography
Kirkbride was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on 19 August 1897 to British parents and grew up in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
. He began his military career as an officer in the army of General
Allenby Allenby is a surname of English origin. Notable people with the surname include:
* Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (1861–1936), British Army field-marshal
** Named for the above:
**Allenby Street, Tel Aviv, Israel
**Allenby Bridge between J ...
from 1916 to 1921. In 1920, after the
Battle of Maysalun and the fall of
Faisal
Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal ( ar, فيصل) is an Arabic given name.
Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to:
People
* King Faisal (disambiguation)
** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt
** Faisal ...
's government of
Syria left
Transjordan with no central authority, he was dispatched by the British government to Transjordan to help maintain order during this interregnum. "With a fine sense of history" he established the ephemeral but whimsically named "National Government of Moab" in
Kerak
Al-Karak ( ar, الكرك), is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate. ...
with himself as president, which lasted until
Abdullah took control of the country. (His younger brother Alan similarly formed the "Ammonite Government" in
Amman.) From 1922 to 1927 and from 1937 to 1939, he was governor of
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
and of the district of
Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...
in
Palestine. He was Deputy Resident in Transjordan from 1927 to 1937 and
Resident from 1939 to 1946, and was one of Abdullah's leading British advisors.
In 1946 Transjordan gained independence. Kirkbride was then appointed
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (which became
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949) and played an important diplomatic role during the
1948 Arab-Israeli war.
From 1952 to 1954, he was ambassador to
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...
. He was appointed KCMG in the
1949 Birthday Honours
The 1949 King's Birthday Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the occasion o ...
.
He ended his career as director of the
British Bank of the Middle East, later writing academic books and articles on the Middle East, including two volumes of memoirs.
Works
*
*
*
See also
*
Timeline of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography EntryEncyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa entry Answers.com
">Answers.com">Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa entry Answers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkbride, Alec
1897 births
1978 deaths
Royal Engineers officers
Administrators of Palestine
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Libya
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Jordan
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Recipients of the Military Cross