Sir Frank Keith Officer, (2 October 1889 – 21 June 1969) was an Australian public servant and diplomat, best known for his postings in ambassadorial positions around the world.

Life and career

Keith Officer was born on 2 October 1889 in Toorak, Melbourne. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and Melbourne University. Between 1914 and 1918, Officer served with the First Australian Imperial Force in Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium. From 1919 to 1923, Officer was a political officer of the British Colonial Service in Nigeria. He joined the Australian Department of External Affairs in 1927. In 1940, Officer was appointed counsellor to the Australian legation in Japan, second in command to Sir John Latham. He was ''Charge d'Affaires'' in Tokyo when the Pacific War broke out. Between 1946 and 1948, Officer was Australian Minister to the Netherlands. Officer was offered the post of Australian Minister to Moscow in 1947. In 1948, Officer was appointed Australian Ambassador to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...

. He was recalled from

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. ...

in November 1949 to consult with the Department of External Affairs on the recognition by the United Kingdom of the Communist Government in China. Between 1950 and 1955 Officer was

Australian Ambassador to France The Ambassador of Australia to France is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to the French Republic. The position has the rank and status of an Amba ...

. He retired from the Commonwealth Public Service at the end of March 1950. His retirement prompted External Affairs Minister Richard Casey to write a letter touching on Officer's work, in which he said: "you can properly regard yourself not only as one of the founders of the Australian Foreign Service but as a model which men of succeeding generations can seek to emulate."

Awards

In 1917, Officer was awarded the

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

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1919. In the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in 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 to celebrate the ...

he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

, for services as ambassador in Paris.

Life and career

Awards

References

Further reading