Sir Alexander Brebner CIE (19 August 1883 – 5 March 1979) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who spent most of his career in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Brebner was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where he was educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He joined the Indian Public Works Department as an Assistant Engineer in 1906 and was promoted to Executive Engineer in 1912. He was appointed Under-Secretary in

Bihar and Orissa Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then Indian Ci ...

in 1919 and Under-Secretary to the Government of India later the same year, a position he held until 1923 when he was promoted to Superintending Engineer. He served as Chief Engineer to the Government of India from 1931 until his retirement in 1938. Returning to his native

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Brebner served as Chief Divisional Food Officer for Scotland with the

Ministry of Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

from 1940 to 1942 and Licensing Officer for Scotland with the Ministry of Works from 1942 to 1954. He also served on the Council and Executive of the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

until 1961 and on the Board of the

Scottish Special Housing Association The Scottish Special Housing Association was established in 1937 to provide good-quality social housing. It had headquarters in Edinburgh's West End, Palmerston Place and Manor Place, Edinburgh, where it employed a large team of architects, enginee ...

from 1954 to 1961, and was Acting Secretary of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

from 1954 to 1955. From 1957 to 1964, he served on the ruling council of the influential Edinburgh conservationist body the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

. Brebner was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(CIE) in the 1920 New Year Honours and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on his retirement from India in 1938.

Footnotes

References

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Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brebner, Alexander 1883 births 1979 deaths Civil servants from Edinburgh People educated at George Watson's College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish civil engineers Indian Engineering Service officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Food Civil servants in the Ministry of Works Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Engineers from Edinburgh