William Henry Clark
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Sir William Henry Clark (4 January 1876 – 22 November 1952) was a British civil servant and diplomat. He was the first
British High Commissioner to Canada The high commissioner of the United Kingdom to Canada is the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in Canada and is in charge of the British High Commission, Ottawa, British diplomatic mission to Canada. As fellow members ...
1928–1934.


Early life

Clark was educated at
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
. His father was
John Willis Clark John Willis Clark (1833 – 1910), sometimes J. W. Clark, was an English academic and antiquarian. Academic career Clark was born into a Cambridge University academic family, and was a nephew of Prof. Robert Willis. Educated at Eton and Trinity ...
.


Diplomatic career

Clark began his career as a clerk at the Board of Trade in 1899. He was Secretary to the Special Mission to Shanghai to negotiate a Commercial Treaty with China in 1901, went on to become acting 2nd secretary in Diplomatic Service in February 1902, and was secretary to Royal Commission on Supply of Food, etc., in Time of War, 1903-1905. He was private secretary at Board of Trade to
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 ...
, 1906; to
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, 1908; and again to Lloyd George as Chancellor of Exchequer, 1908–1910. Clark was also the Member for Commerce and Industry of the Council of the Viceroy of India, 1910–1916; Comptroller-General, Commercial Intelligence Department of Board of Trade, 1916–1917; Comptroller-General of Department of Overseas Trade, 1917–1928. Clark was the first High Commissioner of HM Government to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
from 1928 until 1934, during which time he acquired and lived in Earnscliffe manor, the former home of the first Prime Minister of Canada,
John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
. From 1934 to 1939 he was British High Commissioner for Basutoland,
Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in Southern Africa. It became the Republi ...
, Swaziland, and the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
. He retired in 1940. He is buried in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge, with his wife Lady Clark, née Anne Monsell (22 February 1880 – 11 November 1946), former wife of W. Bennett Pike.A Cambridge Necropolis by Dr.
Mark Goldie Mark Goldie is an English historian and Professor of Intellectual History at Churchill College, Cambridge. He has written on the English political theorist John Locke and is a member of the Early Modern History and Political Thought and Intellec ...
, 2000


See also

* List of High Commissioners from the United Kingdom to Canada *
List of High Commissioners from the United Kingdom to South Africa The British High Commissioner to South Africa is the head of the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission in the Republic of South Africa. As fellow members of the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom and South Africa exchange high commissio ...


References


Entry at British Library of Political and Economic ScienceFull text of 1929 speech to the Empire Club of CanadaEntry at Manuscripts and Archive of the University of Cape Town


External links

* High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1876 births 1952 deaths {{UK-diplomat-stub