- 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=20thPrime 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=AnglicanSir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, GCMG, KC (
March 31 ,1851 ,Nelson, New Zealand –13 March ,1936 ,Wellington , New Zealand) was the firstNew Zealand -bornPrime 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 andOtago Boys' High School . At Otago Boys he was theDux for four years.After finishing high school, he travelled to
England where he attendedSt John's College, Cambridge , receiving a BA in 1873. On returning to New Zealand, he began practisinglaw inWellington .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 aby-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 atGenoa andthe Hague .In 1923 he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St Michael and St George and was appointed to thePrivy Council .On returning to
New Zealand , Bell became Acting Prime Minister whileWilliam Massey was inLondon . Massey's health began to fail, and Bell took over most control of the government. He officially became Prime Minister onMay 14 after the death of Massey onMay 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 byGordon Coates .After giving up his portfolios in 1926, he returned to the
League of Nations with Coates.He died in
Wellington on13 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]
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