Lewis Harold Border (16 April 192011 March 2011) was an Australian

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. From 1977 to 1980, Border was Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand.

Life and career

Lew Border was born on 16 April 1920 in Bundarra, New South Wales. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, the Ven Archdeacon H. Border, of Gunnedah. The younger Border attended

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

between 1934 and 1937, then

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

at the

New England College New England College (NEC) is a private liberal arts college in Henniker, New Hampshire. As of Fall 2020 New England College's enrollment was 4,327 students (1,776 undergraduate and 2,551 graduate). The college is regionally accredited by the ...

. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts. Border enlisted in the Australian Army on 22 August 1942 at the rank of Bombardier. He was discharged on 20 April 1945. After his military service, Border joined the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1945. In January 1963 then External Affairs Minister

Garfield Barwick Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, (22 June 190313 July 1997) was an Australian judge who was the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1964 to 1981. He had earlier been a Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Part ...

announced Border's appointment as Australian Ambassador to Myanmar. In June 1966 then Minister for External Affairs

Paul Hasluck Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck, (1 April 1905 – 9 January 1993) was an Australian statesman who served as the 17th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1969 to 1974. Prior to that, he was a Liberal Party politician, holding min ...

announced that Border was to be Australian Ambassador to South Vietnam. Over the course of his two-year posting, Border described that he had seen a "noticeable strengthening" of South Vietnam's resolve to resist the challenge of Hanoi and the Vietcong. Border's next post, starting 1968, was as High Commissioner to Pakistan. That year he was also appointed Australia's first Ambassador to Afghanistan whilst resident in Pakistan. In 1977 Border was announced as the next Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand. The relationship between Australia and New Zealand at the time of his posting was seen by media as "rather uncertain". Border died on 11 March 2001.

Awards

Border was appointed a Lieutenant in the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, ...

during the Queen's visit to the Australian embassy in Washington in October 1957. Border was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1979 in recognition of his public service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Border, Lewis Harold 1920 births 2011 deaths People from New South Wales Ambassadors of Australia to Afghanistan Ambassadors of Australia to Germany Ambassadors of Australia to Myanmar Ambassadors of Australia to Vietnam High Commissioners of Australia to New Zealand High Commissioners of Australia to Pakistan Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at The Armidale School