Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie

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Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie

Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie , VC , GCMG , CB , DSO , KStJ , PC (born July 6, 1872 in Windsor , Berkshire , England , † May 2, 1955 in Shipton Moyne , Gloucestershire , England) was a British soldier and politician. He was Governor of the Australian states of New South Wales and South Australia and the tenth Governor General of Australia .

Early life

Alexander Hore-Ruthven was born in Windsor , Berkshire in 1872 , the second son of Walter Hore-Ruthven, 8th Lord Ruthven of Freeland. He was a student at Eton College , but had to leave it because of poor eyesight.

Military career

In 1898, Hore-Ruthven joined the British Army . During the Mahdi Uprising , he was a captain in the 3rd Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry . During the fighting in Gedaref , he saved the life of an Egyptian officer by taking him out of the line of fire of the attacking dervishes and taking him to the 16th Egyptian battalion. He later received the Victoria Cross for his bravery .

In 1905, Hore-Ruthven became assistant to William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley , the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . When Dudley was appointed Governor General of Australia in 1908 , Hore-Ruthven succeeded him as military secretary. In the same year he married Zara Pollok, with whom he had two sons, one of whom died as a child. After two years, Hore-Ruthven left Australia to return to military service in India . During the First World War he served in France and Gallipoli , where he was seriously injured. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his services . By the end of the war, Hore-Ruthven had become Brigadier General and commanded the British occupation forces in Germany in 1919 and 1920.

Governor of Australia

Until 1928, Hore-Ruthven held a number of advisory positions in the British Army before he was appointed Governor of South Australia . After his term ended, he became Governor of New South Wales .

Because of his military experience and his two terms as Governor of Australia, he was proposed by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons to succeed Sir Isaac Isaacs as Governor General of Australia . There were other candidates, but Lyons did not want to give this office to an Australian again. His appointment was approved by King George V , but he died on January 20, 1936, three days before Hore-Ruthven was to be sworn in as Governor General. He was sworn in during the reign of Edward VIII , Georg's successor.

Although the political influence of the Governors General in Australia was no longer relevant, Hore-Ruthven was the first Governor General to represent the Australian government abroad when he toured the Dutch East Indies . In addition, after Lyon's death in April 1939, Hore-Ruthven retained the right to use Earle Page of the Country Party as an interim solution until the United Australia Party had chosen a new chairman and thus Prime Minister.

During World War II , Hore-Ruthven saw it as his duty to support the Australian government and the British Empire . During a stay of several weeks with the Australian troops in 1943, he learned that a son, Patrick Hore-Ruthven, had already died in Libya on Christmas of the previous year .

On November 11, 1941, Hore-Ruthven officially opened the Australian War Memorial in the capital Canberra .

Late years

After his tenure ended in September 1944, Hore-Ruthven returned to the United Kingdom and was appointed Earl of Gowrie and assistant constable of Windsor Castle . In 1948, Hore-Ruthven was elected President of the Marylebone Cricket Club . He died in May 1955 at his Gloucestershire home .

Hore-Ruthven was the only Governor General of Australia to rule five different Prime Ministers (Lyons, Page, Menzies, Fadden and Curtin) during his tenure. He was also the governor general with the longest term in office (1936–1945).

swell

predecessor Office successor
New title created Earl of Gowrie
1945–1955 		Gray Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie
New title created Baron Gowrie
1935–1955 		Gray Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie
personal data
SURNAME Hore-Ruthven, Alexander, 1st Earl of Gowrie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hore-Ruthven, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Brigadier General and Governor General of Australia (1936–1945)
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Windsor , Berkshire , England
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1955
Place of death Shipton Moyne , Gloucestershire , England