Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Cecil Campbell Balfour (8 December 1884 – 16 April 1965) was a British military officer and colonial administrator.

Background

The son of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Eustace Balfour Colonel Eustace James Anthony Balfour (8 June 1854 – 14 February 1911) was a London-based Scottish architect. The brother of one British Prime Minister and nephew of another, his career was built on family connections. His mother was ...

and his wife Lady Frances (née Campbell), Balfour was a nephew of

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

, who was

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from July 1902 to December 1905. He was educated at Eton.

Career

In 1906 he was appointed to the public works department of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

, and in 1912 was appointed to the Sudan Political Service after the intervention of the Governor-General,

Reginald Wingate General Sir Francis Reginald Wingate, 1st Baronet (25 June 1861 – 29 January 1953) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator in Egypt and the Sudan. He served as Governor-General of the Sudan (1899–1916) and High Commissioner in ...

. Balfour joined the 6th Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

, where he gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he fought in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

between 1917 and 1919, taking a leading role in defeating a rebellion in Najaf. From 1924 to 1926 he was Military Secretary to the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

, George Goschen (whose daughter Phyllis he had married in 1920). From 1927 to 1928 he served as governor of the Red Sea Province of Sudan, and from 1929 to 1930 was Governor of the Mongalla Province of Sudan. Balfour was decorated with the award of

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...

(3rd class), the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and the award of

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(2nd class). He was invested as a 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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(1919), as a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1931) and as a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(1953). He died on 16 April 1965 at the age of eighty.

Private life

Balfour married Phyllis Goschen, daughter of

George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen George Joachim Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen (15 October 1866 – 24 July 1952), was a British Conservative politician who served as Governor of Madras from 1924 to 1929, and acting Viceroy of India from 1929 to 1931. Goschen was the son of pr ...

, and his wife Lady Margaret (née Gathorne-Hardy; daughter of

Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook, (1 October 1814 – 30 October 1906) was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He held cabinet office in every Conservative government between 1858 and 1892. He s ...

), in 1920.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Francis 1884 births 1965 deaths British colonial governors and administrators in Africa

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Sudan Political Service officers