Harry Luke

Sir Harry Charles Luke, KCMG (1884-1969) was a British colonial official. His father was of Hungarian Jewish origin, though he acquired American citizenship: his mother was an Austrian Catholic of the minor nobility. He served as the Colonial Secretary in Sierra Leone. In 1921, he was Assistant Governor of Jerusalem and was appointed a member of the Haycraft Commission which was established by Herbert Samuel to investigate the cause of the riot which started in Jaffa on May 1 that year.

He was subsequently appointed to be the acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Palestine. He assumed this position on 19 July 1928 and held it until 6 December 1928. In August 1929, acting as deputy to Sir John Robert Chancellor, he attempted to mediate an agreement between Jewish and Arab leaders, without success. He held the post of Lieutenant Governor of Malta and, later, Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner of the British Western Pacific Territories from 16 September 1938 to 21 July 1942.

Wrote "The Old Turkey and the New" (First published in 1936 by Macmillan & Co Ltd under the title "The Making of Modern Turkey") as well as other texts on the Old and New world of the time.

ee also

*List of Governors of Fiji
*British Mandate of Palestine#British High Commissioners for Palestine

External links

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p4570.htm#i45696 peerage page]
* [http://www.fijibure.com/rulers.htm Rulers of fiji]
* [http://tosic.interfree.it/Asia/Israele.htm Rulers of Israel]
* [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/jafi75/timeline1j.html Jewish Agency for Israel timeline]