Alexander Knox Helm
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Knox Helm, GBE
, KCMG
(Born Dumfries
, 23 March 1893 – Died at sea, 7 March 1964), British
diplomat, was Ambassador to Turkey
and the last Governor-General
of the Sudan
.
, Alexander Knox Helm was educated at Dumfries Academy
.
. He served as a member of the East Registry. A keen volunteer when World War I
broke out, he was allowed by the Foreign Office to join his field artillery unit, being promoted second lieutenant in 1917 and serving in that capacity in Palestine
. As a humble clerk, he had performed only routine duties but distinguished himself through his assiduity and retentive memory.
Thus, when the war ended he was selected under the special recruitment scheme for filling vacancies caused by the war and appointed to the Levant Consular Service. After a short period of training in Oriental languages at King's College, Cambridge
, he went as Vice-Consul to Thessaloniki
, and soon after became third Dragoman
at Constantinople
. When the Turkish capital moved to Ankara
and the office of Dragoman was abolished, Helm went there as Second Secretary. He served there as Consul, and in 1930 was transferred to the Foreign Office, working in the Eastern Department.
In 1937 he was sent as Consul to Addis Ababa
and at the outbreak of World War II
was moved to the British Embassy at Washington, D.C.
, where he handled the various complicated problems connected with the supply of petroleum to the United Kingdom. In 1942 he went back to Ankara (at that moment a key post) as Counsellor.
In 1946 he was chosen to go as British representative to Hungary
and when normal diplomatic relations were restored in 1947 he was made Minister there. In 1949 he was appointed the first British Chargé d'Affaires (later Minister) to Tel Aviv
in the newly-independent State of Israel
, where he spent two happy and fruitful years; in 1951 he became Ambassador to Turkey. He left there in 1954, having reached retirement age, but went for a brief period to Khartoum
in 1955, being the last Governor-General there.
A man of strong character and great determination, Helm was a tenacious and forceful negotiator who had great powers of persuasion and a remarkable sense of timing. He also had a sense of humour and of proportion, and a genuine charm. An exacting chief, he was popular with his staff, who knew that he could do any of their jobs better than they could themselves. He was always ready to listen to their advice, but invariably made up his own mind. He retained to the end the accent and intonation of the Dumfriesshire
farming stock from which he came and his love for and understanding of the things of the soil stood him in good stead in posts where agricultural problems loomed large in the economy of the country.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(Born Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
, 23 March 1893 – Died at sea, 7 March 1964), British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
diplomat, was Ambassador to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the last Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of the Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan referred to the manner by which Sudan was administered between 1899 and 1956, when it was a condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom.-Union with Egypt:...
.
Early years
Born to W. H. Helm of DumfriesDumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
, Alexander Knox Helm was educated at Dumfries Academy
Dumfries Academy
Dumfries Academy is one of four secondary schools in the town of Dumfries in South West Scotland.-History:Dumfries Academy has existed in its present form, though not in the buildings it currently occupies, since 1804...
.
Career
In 1912 he passed the examination for what were then called second division clerkships and was appointed to the Foreign OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
. He served as a member of the East Registry. A keen volunteer when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, he was allowed by the Foreign Office to join his field artillery unit, being promoted second lieutenant in 1917 and serving in that capacity in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. As a humble clerk, he had performed only routine duties but distinguished himself through his assiduity and retentive memory.
Thus, when the war ended he was selected under the special recruitment scheme for filling vacancies caused by the war and appointed to the Levant Consular Service. After a short period of training in Oriental languages at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, he went as Vice-Consul to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, and soon after became third Dragoman
Dragoman
A dragoman was an interpreter, translator and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts...
at Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. When the Turkish capital moved to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and the office of Dragoman was abolished, Helm went there as Second Secretary. He served there as Consul, and in 1930 was transferred to the Foreign Office, working in the Eastern Department.
In 1937 he was sent as Consul to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
and at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was moved to the British Embassy at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he handled the various complicated problems connected with the supply of petroleum to the United Kingdom. In 1942 he went back to Ankara (at that moment a key post) as Counsellor.
In 1946 he was chosen to go as British representative to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and when normal diplomatic relations were restored in 1947 he was made Minister there. In 1949 he was appointed the first British Chargé d'Affaires (later Minister) to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in the newly-independent State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he spent two happy and fruitful years; in 1951 he became Ambassador to Turkey. He left there in 1954, having reached retirement age, but went for a brief period to Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
in 1955, being the last Governor-General there.
A man of strong character and great determination, Helm was a tenacious and forceful negotiator who had great powers of persuasion and a remarkable sense of timing. He also had a sense of humour and of proportion, and a genuine charm. An exacting chief, he was popular with his staff, who knew that he could do any of their jobs better than they could themselves. He was always ready to listen to their advice, but invariably made up his own mind. He retained to the end the accent and intonation of the Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
farming stock from which he came and his love for and understanding of the things of the soil stood him in good stead in posts where agricultural problems loomed large in the economy of the country.