Sir Alfred Hamilton Grant, 12th Baronet (12 June 1872 – 23 January 1937), known as Hamilton Grant, and from 1918 as Sir Hamilton Grant, was a British diplomat who served primarily 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 ...

. He was also briefly a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Background

Grant 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 ...

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 ...

on 12 June 1872, the son of

Sir Alexander Grant, 10th Baronet Sir Alexander Grant, 10th Baronet, FRSE (23 September 1826 – 30 November 1884) was a Scottish baronet, landowner and historian who served Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1868 to 1884. He had strong links to India, especially ...

. He was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, Edinburgh and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. While at Oxford he won a Rugby football

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

. In 1896 he married Mabel Bessie Lovett. They had one daughter Audrey and one son Alexander. In 1910 Mabel died. In 1914 he married Margaret Lucia Cochran of

Ashkirk Ashkirk is a small village on the Ale Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is located just off the A7 road, approximately each way between Selkirk to the north and Hawick to the south. Other places nearby include the Alemoor ...

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

. They had one son and two daughters. Following the death of his brother he succeeded to the title of 12th Baronet Grant of Dalvey on 11 February 1936.

Diplomatic service

In 1895 Grant entered the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

. He was Deputy Commissioner of various Frontier districts and Secretary to Frontier Administration. In 1904 he accompanied the Dane Mission to Kabul. In 1908 he was awarded a

Companion 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 appo ...

. In 1914 he was appointed Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, serving for 5 years. In 1915 he was awarded a Companion of the Star of India. In 1918 he was awarded a

Knight Commander 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 appo ...

. In 1919, after the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

, he was the Chief Delegate at the Rawalpindi Conference which ended the British protectorate of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. He served as the Chief Commissioner of the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1919 until 1921. In 1922 he was awarded a Knight Commander of the Star of India.

Political activity

In 1922 Grant left India and returned to Britain. He decided to pursue a political career and was chosen as Liberal candidate for Roxburgh and Selkirk where his wife was from. At the time, the Liberals were split between supporters of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

and supporters of Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

. Grant was a supporter of Asquith and the Roxburgh seat was held by a supporter of Lloyd George. At the general election held that year, the other parties left the seat for the two Liberal candidates and Grant was narrowly defeated; He did not stand for parliament again.

Business activity

Grant was a Director of Anglo-Huronian, Ltd, Associated Mining and Finance Co., Ltd, Northern Rhodesia Co., Ltd, General Co-operative Investment Trust, Ltd and HE Proprietary Ltd.‘GRANT, Sir (Alfred) Hamilton’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 26 March 2014
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External links

Grant at the National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp62247/sir-alfred-hamilton-grant-12th-bt

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Hamilton Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1872 births 1937 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Fettes College Diplomats from Edinburgh Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Politicians from Edinburgh