Keith Officer

Sir Keith Officer OBE, MC
Australian Ambassador to France
In office 18 April 1950 – March 1955
Preceded by	William Hodgson
Succeeded by	Alfred Stirling
Australian Ambassador to China
In office 15 November 1948 – 17 October 1949
Preceded by	Douglas Copland
Succeeded by	Vacant
Australian Minister to the Netherlands
In office 1946–1948
Preceded by	John Hood
Succeeded by	John Quinn
Personal details
Born	(1889-10-02)2 October 1889 Toorak, Victoria, Australia
Died	21 June 1969(1969-06-21) (aged 79) Southampton, England
Alma mater	University of Melbourne (LLB)
Occupation	Public servant and diplomat
Civilian awards	Knight Bachelor
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1914–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	First World War
Military awards	Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3)

Sir Frank Keith Officer, OBE, MC (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 where he was resident at Ormond College.

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. He was recalled from Nanjing 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. 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. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. In the 1950 Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor, for services as ambassador in Paris.