Geoffrey Charles Lawrence, (11 November 1915 – 5 June 1994) was a British colonial servant in Africa. He served as the financial secretary of

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

from 1960 to 1963. Born in London and educated at the

Stationers' Company's School The Stationers' Company's School was a grammar school for boys, later a comprehensive school in Hornsey, north London. Foundation The school was founded by the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers to provide education for sons ...

, Lawrence joined

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

before being sent with the Territorial Army to fight in North Africa. He then volunteered for the

Somaliland Camel Corps The Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit which was raised in British Somaliland. It existed from 1914 until 1944. Beginnings and the Dervish rebellion In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the the ...

. By the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he had attained the rank of major. Upon applying for the Colonial Service, he was sent to

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, to acquire administrative skills. He and his wife Joyce then spent 16 years in and around East Africa. His appointments included district commissioner in

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

; assistant chief secretary and finance secretary in

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

; and financial secretary in

until the introduction of internal self-government in 1963. He served as acting

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

from 23 February 1961 to 5 June 1961.

References

1915 births 1994 deaths Chief ministers of Zanzibar Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{Zanzibar-politician-stub