Sir Alexander Brebner CIE (19 August 1883 – 5 March 1979) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

who spent most of his career in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Brebner was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he was educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He joined the Indian Public Works Department as an Assistant Engineer in 1906 and was promoted to Executive Engineer in 1912. He was appointed Under-Secretary in

Bihar and Orissa Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then ...

in 1919 and Under-Secretary to the Government of India later the same year, a position he held until 1923 when he was promoted to Superintending Engineer. He served as Chief Engineer to the Government of India from 1931 until his retirement in 1938. Returning to his native

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, Brebner served as Chief Divisional Food Officer for Scotland with the

Ministry of Food Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

from 1940 to 1942 and Licensing Officer for Scotland with the Ministry of Works from 1942 to 1954. He also served on the Council and Executive of the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

until 1961 and on the Board of the

Scottish Special Housing Association The Scottish Special Housing Association was established in 1937 to provide good-quality social housing. It had headquarters in Edinburgh's West End, Palmerston Place and Manor Place, Edinburgh, where it employed a large team of architects, enginee ...

from 1954 to 1961, and was Acting Secretary of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

from 1954 to 1955. From 1957 to 1964, he served on the ruling council of the influential Edinburgh conservationist body the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association, often subtitled Edinburgh Civic Trust, is an architectural, conservation, and urban planning monitoring organisation in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. The Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, is one o ...

. Brebner was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(CIE) in the 1920 New Year Honours and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on his retirement from India in 1938.

Footnotes

References

*''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brebner, Alexander 1883 births 1979 deaths Civil servants from Edinburgh People educated at George Watson's College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish civil engineers Indian Engineering Service officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Food Civil servants in the Ministry of Works Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Engineers from Edinburgh