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 Rive ...

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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. 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 ...

from 1916 to 1921. In 1920, after the Battle of Maysalun and the fall of Faisal's government of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

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 Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

.) 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 s ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (which became

The Hashemite Kingdom of 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 Rive ...

in 1949) and played an important diplomatic role during the

1948 Arab-Israeli war Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form Britis ...

. 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, Suda ...

. 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 HSBC Bank Middle East Limited is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. History The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ایران; Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British ban ...

, later writing academic books and articles on the Middle East, including two volumes of memoirs.

Works

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Sources

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External links

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography EntryEncyclopedia_of_the_Modern_Middle_East_and_North_Africa_entry__Answers.com
_.html" ;"title="Answers.com">Encyclopedia 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

Biography

Works

See also

Sources

External links