Sir Henry Peter Rowe, KCB, QC (18 August 1916 – 13 February 1992), born Heinz Peter Röhr, was an Austrian-born British lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.

Career

Rowe was born Heinz Peter Röhr in

Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

,"Sir Henry Rowe", ''The Times'', 19 February 1992, p. 17. on 18 August 1916; his father, Richard, was

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

and his mother, Olga, an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

."Rowe, Sir Henry Peter"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 24 January 2019. In 1935, he enrolled at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, but he arrived at England in 1938 to read law at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. As an Austrian, he was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, but showed signs of academic excellence in the year he had already spent at Cambridge, enough that the university awarded him a first-class degree

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

. In 1941, he was allowed to join the

Royal Pioneer Corps The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks. It was formed in 1939, and amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993. Pioneer units performed a wide variety of tasks in all theatres of war, in ...

in a non-combatant role, and was later transferred to the 7th Armoured Division where he served as a dispatch rider and was promoted to the rank of

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

. On

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

, Rowe (as he was now called) returned to the United Kingdom and recommenced his interest in law. He was called to the bar in 1947 and joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel soon afterwards. He spent the rest of his career in the office, and was responsible for drafting the

Licensing Act 1961 A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

, the

Rent Act 1965 Rent may refer to: Economics * Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production * Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of ...

, the

Scotland Act 1978 The Scotland Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to establish a Scottish Assembly as a devolved legislature for Scotland. At a referendum held in the following year, the Act failed to gain the necessary level ...

, the Wales Act 1978 and the Housing Act 1980; he drafted the

Finance Bill A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educat ...

every year from 1971 to 1976. Rowe was promoted to Second Parliamentary Counsel in 1973, and First Parliamentary Counsel four years later. He retired in 1981, having been appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1978, the same year he was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. Rowe died on 13 February 1992, leaving a widow and three children.

References

1916 births 1992 deaths British civil servants People from Bad Ischl Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of Gray's Inn University of Vienna alumni British Army personnel of World War II Royal Pioneer Corps soldiers People interned during World War II {{UK-law-bio-stub