Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell (31 March 1851 – 13 March 1936) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician who served as the 20th

prime minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inf ...

from 14 to 30 May 1925. He was the first New Zealand-born prime minister, holding office in a caretaker capacity following the death of

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Ze ...

. Bell was born in Nelson. His father, Sir

Dillon Bell Sir Francis Dillon Bell (8 October 1822 – 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. He served as New Zealand's third Minister of Finance (the first parliamentary finance minister), and later as its third Speaker of ...

, was also a politician. Bell attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

and

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

before going on to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. He returned to New Zealand to practise law, settling in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

and eventually becoming president of the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...

. Bell served as

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

from 1891 to 1893 and from 1896 to 1897. He was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1893, after two previous defeats, but served only a single term before retiring in 1896 to return to the legal profession. In 1912, Bell was appointed to the Legislative Council as a representative of the Reform Party. In the Reform Government under William Massey, he served as Minister of Internal Affairs (1912–1915), Minister of Immigration (1912–1920), Attorney-General (1918–1926), Minister of Health (1919–1920), and Minister of External Affairs (1923–1926). When Massey died in office in 1925, Bell – aged 74 – was commissioned as his replacement for 16 days while the party elected a new leader (

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run a ...

). Bell retired from politics the following year. Only

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a prominent 19th-century New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (an offic ...

served a shorter term as prime minister, and only

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, hav ...

served as prime minister at a greater age.

Early life

Bell was born in Nelson, the eldest son of Sir

. His mother was Margaret Hort (who was Jewish, but became a Christian). Arthur Bell was a younger brother. He attended

and

. At Otago Boys he was the Dux. After finishing high school, he travelled to England where he attended

, receiving a BA in 1873. On returning to New Zealand, he began practising law in

, being involved in Bell, Gully, MacKenzie and Evans. As a youth in the 1870s, he also played two

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches for

. Bell served as Crown Solicitor in Wellington from 1878 to 1890, and from 1902 to 1910. He was a prominent member of both the local and national

law societies A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

. He served as the latter's president from 1901 to 1918. He married Caroline Robinson on 24 April 1878 at St John's Church in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. She was the third daughter of William Robinson. They had four daughters and four sons. His son William Henry Dillon Bell (1884–1917) was a Member of Parliament, but resigned and volunteered for service in World War I. He was killed in 1917. Another son

Cheviot Bell Cheviot Wellington Rangi Dillon Bell (18 August 1892 – 26 September 1960) was a New Zealand lawyer. He was appointed a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council in 1950 as part of National's suicide squad. Biography Bell was born in Well ...

was appointed to the Legislative Council as a member of the

suicide squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

by the

First National Government The Anniversary of the First National Government ( es, Primer gobierno patrio) is a public holiday of Argentina, commemorating the May Revolution and the creation of the Primera Junta on May 25, 1810, which is considered the first patriotic govern ...

on 27 July 1950 to vote for the abolition of the council, so served to 31 December 1950. The two children of his brother Alfred,

Brenda Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...

and Frank Bell, became notable radio pioneers.

Political career

His political career began with being elected

in 1891, 1892 and 1896. In his first general election in , he was defeated running as an independent for the electorate. He was narrowly defeated by William McLean in an by-election by 3388 votes to 3245. He finally entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in the , serving for one term. In 1912, the Reform Party came to power, and on 10 July 1912 Bell was appointed to the Legislative Council. He became

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

(1912–1915), and Minister of Immigration (1912–1920). He was

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

(1918–1926). He was the first Commissioner of State Forests, and from 1923 he would also serve as the

Minister of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. He represented New Zealand at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1922. He would also attend the allied conferences at

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. Having been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 3 June 1915, Bell was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the same order in the

1923 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1923 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 29 December 1922. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 1 February 1926.

Prime Minister

On returning to New Zealand, Bell became Acting Prime Minister while

was in London. Massey's health began to fail, and Bell took over most of his roles. He officially became prime minister on 14 May 1925 after Massey's death on 10 May. He served as prime minister for the next 16 days. Bell declined the

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

's offer to become

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and was replaced by

. After giving up his portfolios in 1926, he returned to the

with Coates. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Death

Bell's wife, Caroline (born 1853), died in

on 8 September 1935. Bell died in Wellington on 13 March 1936.

Commemoration

Bell Road in Wellington is named after him.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Biography of his father, Sir Francis Dillon Bell
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Francis 1851 births 1936 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Attorneys-General of New Zealand People educated at Auckland Grammar School People educated at Otago Boys' High School Mayors of Wellington Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Prime Ministers of New Zealand New Zealand education ministers New Zealand foreign ministers Health ministers of New Zealand Immigration ministers of New Zealand Interior ministers of New Zealand New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand people of Jewish descent Leaders of political parties in New Zealand Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs People from Nelson, New Zealand Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the League of Nations Reform Party (New Zealand) MLCs New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates New Zealand Anglicans New Zealand cricketers Wellington cricketers Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand King's Counsel Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election Burials at Karori Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand politicians Jewish New Zealand politicians Jewish prime ministers New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods Francis Justice ministers of New Zealand Johnston family