Sir Alexander Frederick Whyte (30 September 1883 – 30 July 1970) was a British civil servant,

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politician, writer, and journalist. From 1920 to 1925, he served as the first president of the new

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Biography

Alexander Frederick Whyte was born on 30 September 1883, the second of eight children, and eldest son born to the Reverend

Alexander Whyte ''For the British colonial administrator, see Alexander Frederick Whyte'' Rev Alexander Whyte D.D.,LL.D. (13 January 18366 January 1921) was a Scotland, Scottish Anglican divine, divine. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Chu ...

DD, and Jane Elizabeth Barbour, who married in 1881. Whyte attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and read modern languages at

Jena University The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is c ...

and at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, graduating with a first class degree. During this time he was President of Edinburgh University Union, and after graduation was warden of the

Edinburgh University Settlement The Edinburgh University Settlement (EUS) was a multi-purpose voluntary organisation established by University of Edinburgh in 1905. The Edinburgh University Settlement was part of a larger settlement movement which began in Britain with the found ...

in 1907–8. He entered

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(1910–1918), during which time he had been parliamentary private secretary (1910–1915) to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, who was

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

(1910–1911), and then

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

(1911–15) at the time. 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 ...

, Whyte was a lieutenant in the

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on special service (1914–17). He was appointed the first president of the

in India (1920–25). He then took on ambassadorial roles; as political advisor to the National Government of China (1929–32), director general of the

English-Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organisation headquartered in London, England. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages ...

(1938), and head of the American division of the Ministry of Information (1939–40). He was also involved in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, as the founder and editor of ''The New Europe'' (1917–1920), a well-known weekly read by political leaders and students, and was the author of numerous books discussing the politics and economics of the Orient. Aside from these political roles, Sir Frederick was Chairman of the

Indian Red Cross Society The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is a voluntary humanitarian organization to protect human life and health based in India. It is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and shares the Fundamental Principles of the Inte ...

(1923) and Reindeer Council of the United Kingdom, as well as being a member of the Athenaeum Club, founded in

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in the late 18th century for the exchange of ideas.Who's Who Sir Alexander Frederick was knighted in 1922, and in 1925 a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

was conferred in

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. Though gazetted on 3 June 1925 as Sir Alexander Whyte, he may have adopted the use of his middle name to avoid confusion with an Alexander Whyte (1834-1908) employed as a government botanist under the British administration in

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

(now

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

), where he established Zomba Botanic Garden between 1891 and 1895. It is unclear what involvement in public life Sir Frederick played following 1940. He was no longer at the Ministry of Information, but there is reference to him as chairman of the recently founded Reindeer Council of the United Kingdom in the ''Nature'' of November 1949, following proposals to introduce reindeer to Britain. Further correspondence suggests that as late as 1958, Sir Frederick still had some association with the Indian Red Cross and St. John Ambulance Association and Brigade. A passenger list of that year reveals that Sir Alexander and Lady Fairweather Whyte set sail from

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

to England by first class, and Sir Alexander is described as a director. In 1927, Sir Frederick sat for the photographer Walter Stoneman (1876–1958), and the

bromide A bromide ion is the negatively charged form (Br−) of the element bromine, a member of the halogens group on the periodic table. Most bromides are colorless. Bromides have many practical roles, being found in anticonvulsants, flame-retard ...

print along with two negatives remain part of the

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’s collection.

Family

Alexander Frederick married Margaret Emily Fairweather, the eldest daughter of the Reverend W. Fairweather DD of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

, in 1912, with whom he had three children: *Joan Elizabeth Fairweather *Anne Mortimer *Alexander Hamilton
/ref> Sir Ernest Burdon (1881–1957), a fellow member of the Indian Civil Service, was Sir Frederick Whyte's brother-in-law on account of Sir Ernest's second marriage, to Mary Isabella, daughter of Rev W. Fairweather, in 1922.

Publications

*''India, a federation?'' (Government of India Press, 1926) *''China and foreign powers'' (H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1927) *''China and foreign powers'' (Oxford University Press, 1928) *''The unfinished task'' (Houghton Mifflin company, 1933) *''A British view of Pacific affairs in 1936'' (Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1936) *''World Outlook'' (1939) *''India, a bird's eye view'' (The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1942) *''India'' (The Royal Institute of International affairs, Oxford University Press, 1942) *''Japan's purpose in Asia and the Pacific'' (The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Oxford University Press, 1942) *''India'' (The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1944) *''The rise and fall of Japan'' (The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1945) *''The Pattern of Pacific Security'' A Report by a

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

Study Group (Norman Bentwich, G E Hubbard ''et al.''. A Chatham House Study Group, 1946)

References

Sources

*'' Who’s Who'' (1927)

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*''

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'', 28 June 1926.

External links