Hugh Gilchrist - the premier Greek-Australian historian of the 20th century - an hagiography - 1 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Hugh Gilchrist. Ambassador to Greece. Presenting his credentials.

hagio-graphy,
from Grk. - hagios (saint) - graphy - writing.

BIOGRAPHY

Hugh Gilchrist was born in Sydney on 8 August 1916. He was educated at Edgecliffe Preparatory School, Sicup Place School Kent, and Cranbrook School. He received his tertiary education at Sydney University.

World War II saw him serving with the Australian Military Forces (1941-1943) and the Australian Imperial Forces (1943-1945), reaching the rank of Captain.

He first joined the Department of External Affairs in 1945 and held a number of overseas postings with that Department, namely London and Berlin (1947-1948), Paris (1949-1950), Djakarta (1950-1952), and South Africa (1955-1959). He represented Australia as High Commissioner to Tanganyika (1962-1964) and Tanzania (1964-1966) and as Ambassador to Greece (1968-1972) and Spain (1976-1980).

He has been a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly (1963) and a Member of the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans (1949-1950).

In Australia he has held the offices of Assistant Secretary of the Information and Cultural Relations Branch, Department of External Affairs (1966-1968) and of the Legal and Treaties Branch, Foreign Affairs (1972-1974) as well as First Assistant Secretary of the Consular and Legal Division of Foreign Affairs (1974-1976).

After retiring in 1981 he became a member of the Literature Board of the Australia Council until 1984. His publications include "Australia's First Greeks" in the Canberra Historical Journal, 1977.


Sources

Commonwealth Government Directories, 1981-1984
Notable Australians, 1978, p 458
Who's Who in Australia, 1977, pp 428-429


References

ACT Electoral Roll, 1953, p 79
ACT Electoral Roll, 1954, p 82
ACT Electoral Roll, 1955(1), p 87
ACT Electoral Roll, 1961(1), p 151
ACT Electoral Roll, 1963, p 187
ACT Electoral Roll, 1964, p 206
ACT Electoral Roll, 1965, p 226
ACT Electoral Roll, 1967, p 275
Commonwealth Gazette, No 266, 18 Dec 1941, p 2841
Commonwealth Gazette, No 117, 27 Jun 1946, p 1824
Commonwealth Gazette, No 23, 6 Feb 1947, p 318
Commonwealth Gazette, No 23, 5 Apr 1951, p 863
Commonwealth Gazette, No 75, 4 Oct 1951

From:
http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/PersonDetail.asp?M=3&B=CP+332