Richard Mitchelson Campbell (28 August 1897 – 17 November 1974) was a New Zealand economist, civil servant (holding the position of Chairman of the Public Service Commissioner), and diplomat.

Biography

Campbell was born at

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

in 1897 to Scottish parents. He attended Whangarei High School and in 1914 joined the public service working at the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. In February 1918 he enlisted in the army, only to be discharged a month later as mobilisation was being scaled back. In 1935 he became an economic advisor at the New Zealand High Commission in London. There he managed New Zealand's negotiations over access to the British market for New Zealand meat. After accompanying finance minister Walter Nash to Britain and Europe, from 1940 to 1945 he had an unhappy period as Secretary of the New Zealand High Commission in London, as Campbell and the High Commissioner, ex-politician Bill Jordan disliked each other. He served as Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1958 following five years as the official

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

in the 1953 Coronation Honours. He also received the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. Campbell later lived in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, East Sussex. He died on 17 November 1974 while visiting

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 ...

. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and son.

References

External links

* 1897 births 1974 deaths New Zealand public servants New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George High commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom {{NewZealand-gov-bio-stub