Sir Carl August Berendsen (16 August 1890 – 12 September 1973) was a New Zealand civil servant and diplomat. After being in the Education and Labour Departments he joined the Prime Minister's Department in 1926, becoming its head in 1935. He was the creator of the

Department 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 ...

, and collaborated with

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colony ...

and

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 Lab ...

. He was Secretary for External Affairs 1928–32, Head of the Prime Minister's Department 1932–43, and Secretary of the War Cabinet 1939–43. He attended all Imperial Conferences 1926–43, and assemblies of the League of Nations and later the United Nations. Berendsen served as the country's first High Commissioner to Australia, from 1943 until 1944; this was to improve relations with Australia (

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

) and for health reasons because of Fraser's notoriously disorganised work habits. He was then transferred to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he served as Minister to the United States between 1944 and 1952 (and, in this role, signed the ANZUS Treaty on behalf of New Zealand). In late 1967 he was appointed as member of the team headed by UN envoy

Gunnar Jarring Gunnar Valfrid Jarring (12 October 1907 – 29 May 2002) was a Swedish diplomat and Turkologist. Early life Jarring was born in Brunnby, Malmöhus County, Sweden, the son of Gottfrid Jönsson, a farmer, and his wife Betty (née Svensson). He had ...

to establish peace in the Middle East following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

. He was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated (LLM) at

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. Berendsen served with New Zealand forces in Samoa in World War I, and from 1917 to 1919 after being called up in Trentham Camp and Sling Camp, England; then in the High Commission in London for the 1919 election and licensing polls. In 1935, Berendsen was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the 1936 King's Birthday Honours, and was promoted to Knight Commander of the same order in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

. In 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

. Berendsen married Nellie Ellis Brown at St John's Church, Wellington on 15 December 1917. They had two sons. He was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played four

first-class match 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 ...

es for

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 me ...

, and also played rugby.

References

* ''Mr Ambassador: Memoirs of Sir Carl Berendsen'' edited by

Hugh Templeton Hugh Campbell Templeton (born 24 March 1929) is a former New Zealand diplomat, politician and member of parliament for the National Party. Early life and family Templeton was born in Wyndham, Southland, in 1929. He was educated at Gore Hig ...

(2009, Victoria University Press, Wellington NZ) * ''An eye, an ear and a voice: 50 years in New Zealand's external relations'' edited by

Malcolm Templeton Malcolm James Campbell Templeton (12 May 1924 – 11 September 2017) was a New Zealand public servant and diplomat. He held a number of senior positions, including permanent representative to the United Nations, and deputy secretary of foreign ...

(1993, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wellington NZ) * * ''Undiplomatic Dialogue: Letters between Carl Berendsen and Alister McIntosh 1943–1952'' edited by Ian McGibbon (1993, Auckland University Press, Auckland NZ) * ''Unofficial Channels: Letters between Alister McIntosh and Foss Shanahan, George Laking and Frank Corner 1946–1966'' edited by Ian McGibbon (1999, Victoria University Press, Wellington NZ) *

External links

Photo of Carl Berendsen, 1936

Military personnel file at Archives NZ (Scan, downloadable)

Military personnel file at Archives NZ (Original paper file; viewable at archives)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berendsen, Carl August 1890 births 1973 deaths People from Sydney Australian emigrants to New Zealand Australian people of Swedish descent New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Military Forces personnel of World War I Victoria University of Wellington alumni Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations New Zealand cricketers Wellington cricketers High Commissioners of New Zealand to Australia New Zealand public servants New Zealand people of Swedish descent Wicket-keepers