Francis Hamilton Stuart

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Francis Stuart
Born
Francis Hamilton Stuart

(1912-07-20)20 July 1912
Melbourne, Victoria
Died1 February 2007(2007-02-01) (aged 94)
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Occupation(s)Public servant, diplomat
Spouse
Guinevere Dingley
(m. 1938)

Francis Hamilton Stuart (20 July 1912 – 1 February 2007) was a former Australian public servant and diplomat.

Early life and education

Stuart was born in Melbourne on 20 July 1912. His parents separated when he was 8 years old and he went to live in Sydney with his mother as a child.[1] He later boarded at Geelong Grammar School and went on to higher education at Oxford University.

Career

He began his career in the 1930s as a consular officer in the

Department of External Affairs in 1941.[2] In 1942, he enlisted in the Australian Army to serve during World War II.[3]

Between 1964 and 1957 Stuart was chief of protocol in the external affairs department in Canberra.[4]

In May 1957, Stuart, along with his wife and children, left Canberra for Phnom Penh to take up his appointment as Australian Minister to Cambodia.[5] His nomination had been approved by King Norodom Suramarit in April that year.[6] The Australian Legation in Phnom Penh was raised to Embassy status in 1959 and Stuart became Ambassador.[7]

Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced Stuart's appointment as Ambassador to the United Arab Republic in November 1961.[8]

In May 1970 Stuart was appointed

High Commissioner to Pakistan, with concurrent accreditation to Afghanistan.[9] He left the Philippines in July 1970 to take up the post.[10] Whilst resident in Pakistan, Stuart saw the partition of Pakistan.[2]

In 1973, Stuart became the first resident Australian Ambassador to Poland.[11]

Retirement and later life

In December 1989 Stuart's book Towards Coming of Age was published by Griffith University.[2]

In his retirement, Stuart advocated for Australia to become a republic.[1]

Stuart died on 1 February 2007.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bilney, Gordon (17 March 2007). "Diplomat served with style". The Canberra Times. p. B13.
  2. ^ a b c d "Diplomat's story captures sense of singularity". The Canberra Times. ACT. 20 December 1989. p. 8.
  3. ^ STUART, Francis Hamilton: Service Details, ACT Government, archived from the original on 1 February 2016
  4. ^ "New Minister to Cambodia". The Canberra Times. ACT. 18 April 1957. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Canberra Diary". The Canberra Times. ACT. 22 May 1957. p. 5.
  6. ^ "King Suramarit approves new Minister". The Canberra Times. ACT. 20 April 1957. p. 1.
  7. ^ CA 2770: Australian Embassy, Cambodia [Phnom Penh], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 1 February 2016
  8. ^ "New Ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT. 4 November 1961. p. 29.
  9. ^ "Diplomats posted". The Canberra Times. ACT. 29 May 1970. p. 7.
  10. ^ "Ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT. 22 June 1970. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Ambassador from Poland due next week". The Canberra Times. 27 October 1973. p. 9.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Australian Minister to Cambodia

1957–1959
Succeeded by
Australian Ambassador to Cambodia

1959–1962
Preceded by
Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Republic

1961–1966
Succeeded by
L.J. Lawrey
Preceded by
Australian Ambassador to the Philippines

1966–1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan

1972
Succeeded by
Arthur Morris
Australian Ambassador to Pakistan

1972–73
Preceded by
L.J. Lawrey
Australian Ambassador to Poland

1973–1977
Succeeded by
Bob Laurie
New title
Australian Ambassador to East Germany

1973–1975
Succeeded by
Philip Peters
as Chargé d'Affaires