Francis Bell (New Zealand Prime Minister)

Infobox_Officeholder
honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable
name=Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell
honorific-suffix =
MP
monarch=George V
order=20^th Prime Minister of New Zealand


term_start=May 14, 1925
term_end=May 30, 1925
predecessor=William Massey
successor=Gordon Coates
birth_date=1851
birth_place=Nelson, New Zealand
(First New Zealand born Prime Minister)
death_date=death date|1936|3|13|df=y
death_place=Wellington, New Zealand
spouse=
party=Reform
constituency=Wellington City
religion=Anglican

Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, GCMG, KC (March 31, 1851, Nelson, New Zealand – 13 March, 1936, Wellington, New Zealand) was the first New Zealand-born Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Early life

He was born in Nelson, the eldest son of Sir Francis Dillon Bell. His mother was Margaret Hort (who was Jewish, but became a Christian).

He attended Auckland Grammar School and Otago Boys' High School. At Otago Boys he was the Dux for four years.

After finishing high school, he travelled to England where he attended St John's College, Cambridge, receiving a BA in 1873. On returning to New Zealand, he began practising law in Wellington.

He served as Crown Solicitor in Wellington from 1878 to 1911. He was a prominent member of both the local and national law society. He served as the latter's President from 1901 to 1918.

Political career

His political career began with being elected Mayor of Wellington in 1891, 1892 and 1897. In his first general election in 1890 he was defeated running as an independent for the seat of Wellington City. He was defeated again in a by-election. He finally entered Parliament in the 1893 election, serving for one term.

In 1912, the Reform Party came to power, and Bell was appointed to the Legislative Council and became Minister of Internal Affairs and Immigration. In 1915 he became the Minister of Immigration. In 1918 he became the Attorney-General, a position he would hold until 1926. From 1923 he would also serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He represented New Zealand at the League of Nations in 1922. He would also attend the allied conferences at Genoa and the Hague.

In 1923 he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George and was appointed to the Privy Council.

=Prime Minister=

On returning to New Zealand, Bell became Acting Prime Minister while William Massey was in London. Massey's health began to fail, and Bell took over most control of the government. He officially became Prime Minister on May 14 after the death of Massey on May 10. He would serve as Prime Minister for the next 16 days. Bell declined the party's offer to become Prime Minister and was replaced by Gordon Coates.

After giving up his portfolios in 1926, he returned to the League of Nations with Coates.

He died in Wellington on 13 March, 1936.

Further reading

:*citation |first = William James |last = Gardner |title = 'BELL, Sir Francis Henry Dillon, P.C., G.C.M.C., K.C.', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007 |url = http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/B/BellSirFrancisHenryDillonPcGcmc/en |accessdate = 2008-04-28

:*"The electronic version of this article is the" third URL "in External links below."

:*citation |first = William James |last = Gardner |title = 'Bell, Francis Henry Dillon 1851 - 1936'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 |url = http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ |accessdate = 2008-04-28

:*"The electronic version of this article is the" second URL "in External links below."

:*citation |first1 = William Downie |last1 = Stewart |title = The Right Honourable Sir Francis H.D. Bell, P.C., G.C.M.G., K.C. : his life and times |place = Wellington, [N.Z.] |publisher = Butterworth |year = 1937

External links

* [http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/oldpms/1925bell.html Former PM's - Official website of the Prime Minister of New Zealand] . Accessed May 16, 2005
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2B16 "Dictionary of New Zealand Biography"]
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/B/BellSirFrancisHenryDillonPcGcmc/BellSirFrancisHenryDillonPcGcmc/en Biography in 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/B/BellSirFrancisDillon/BellSirFrancisDillon/en Biography of his father, Sir Francis Dillon Bell]