Charles Wallace Boswell (5 August 1886 – 17 June 1956) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Boswell was the son of a pioneer family and was born in the

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

. He went to school at Driving Creek and played senior grade rugby and cricket in his youth. He attended

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and graduated with a Master of Arts. He married Emma Adelaide Beatrice (Jean) Smith on 16 January 1912 with whom he had one son. He then spent many years as a teacher before becoming the headmaster of Kawakawa District High School. He was also an active trade unionist and was an executive member of the

New Zealand Educational Institute The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI, in Maori: Te Riu Roa) is the largest education trade union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1883 and has a membership of 50,000. History The NZEI was founded by a merger of district institutes of t ...

Political career

He joined the Labour Party and became an organiser. He founded branches in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and Kawakawa and was elected chairman of the Bay of Islands electorate committee. In 1939 he was elected a member of the executive of the Labour Party. He represented the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

electorate from to 1943, when he was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

's Sidney Walter Smith.

Diplomatic career

He was then appointed by

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...

as the (first and only) Minister in charge of the Moscow Embassy in the USSR from 1944 to 1950. He declined to report to ''some clerk in External Affairs'', writing instead personal letters to the Prime Minister (which secretly Fraser rather enjoyed). His appointment (and that of Jim Barclay) attracted criticism as political appointments, as did his ordering of seven suits when clothing was rationed. But this was eclipsed by the "great furniture scandal" of items to be shipped from New Zealand to Moscow (via Tehran and Central Asia) for the new Legation, including 40 armchairs, 10 couches and a billiard table plus palm stands. The order dreamed up by the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

and which could have seated almost the entire House of Representatives was cancelled by Fraser.

Later life and death

When he returned from Moscow he wrote frequently of his experiences and impressions there and was critical of the Soviet way of life. Boswell died in Auckland on 17 June 1956, aged 69, following a long illness. He was survived by his wife and son.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Charles Wallace 1886 births 1956 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Ambassadors of New Zealand to the Soviet Union Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Coromandel Peninsula