Alfred Mitchell-Innes (30 June 1864 – 13 February 1950) was a British diplomat,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and author. He had the Grand Cross of the

Order of Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

h conferred upon him by Abbas II,

Khedive of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brou ...

. He served as the first president of the Egyptian and the world’s most crowned club Al Ahly SC, from 1907 to 1908.

Early and personal life

The youngest child of Alexander Mitchell-Innes (1811–1886) of Ayton, and Whitehall (near Chirnside),

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

, by his second spouse Fanny Augusta (1821–1902), daughter of James Vine, in

Puckaster Puckaster is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, England. Puckaster is on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, south of Niton , between St. Catherine's Point and Binnel. History Puckaster has historical significance. Some have tried to identify ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, Alfred was born at 2 Forres Street,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He married (her second marriage) in 1919, Eveline (d. 28 December 1946), daughter of

Sir William Miller, 1st Baronet Sir William Miller, 1st Baronet, of Manderston, Berwickshire (25 March 1809 – 10 October 1887) was a British Vice-Consul at Saint Petersburg in 1842–54, and a Member of Parliament for Leith Burghs in 1859–1868, for Berwickshire 1873/74, an ...

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller, ...

. In 1934, Mitchell-Innes and his wife contributed 25 Egyptian and oriental antiquities he had acquired from Egypt to the British Museum.

Career

Educated privately, he entered the

British Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

in 1890 and was appointed to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

the next year. In 1896 he became financial advisor to Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V), King of

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. In 1899, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Finance 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 Medit ...

, where he founded Al Ahly SC on 24 April 1907. He later worked as a Counselor at the British Embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1908 to 1913. He was Minister to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

from 1913 to 1919, after which he retired. While in Washington, he wrote two articles on money and credit for ''The Banking Law Journal''. The first, 'What is Money?', received an approving review from

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

, which led to the publication of the second, ' Credit theory of money'. Long forgotten and rediscovered decades later, the articles have been praised as "the best pair of articles on the nature of money written in the twentieth century".L. Randall Wray, ''Credit and state theories of money: the contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', p.223 In retirement he joined

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Town Council, serving twice: from 1921 to 1931 and from 1934 to 1947.

Publications

* 'Love and The Law: a study of Oriental justice', ''

Hibbert Journal ''The Hibbert Journal'' was a large, quarterly magazine in softback book format, issued since 1902 by the Hibbert Trust, best described by its subtitle: ''A Quarterly Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy''. In the early years it was publish ...

'', January 1913, pp. 273–296. *
What is Money
, ''The Banking Law Journal'', May 1913, pp. 377–408 *

, ''The Banking Law Journal'', Vol. 31 (1914), Dec./Jan., pp. 151–168. * ''Martyrdom in our Times: Two essays on prisons and punishments'', Williams & Norgate: London, 1932.

Notes

References

* Ruvigny and Raineval, The Marquis of, ''The Blood Royal of Britain - Tudor Roll'', London, 1903, p. 550. * ''Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed, and Official Classes'', 69th edition, London, 1943. * Black, Adam & Charles, ''Who's Who'', London, 1945, p. 1910. * * * Kampa, Alex, ''Money, Credit Conversion and the legacy of Mitchell-Innes'', Godel Press, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell-Innes, Alfred 1864 births 1950 deaths British diplomats People from Berwickshire Scottish economists