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Sir Alec Seath KirkbrideKCMG OBE MC (1897–1978) was a British diplomat, a proconsul, who served inJordan andPalestine between 1920 and 1951.
Kirkbride was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on 19 August 1897 to British parents and grew up inEgypt. He began his military career as an officer in the army of GeneralAllenby from 1916 to 1921. In 1920, after theBattle of Maysalun and the fall ofFaisal's government ofSyria leftTransjordan with no central authority, he was dispatched by the British government to Transjordan to help maintain order during this interregnum. "With a fine sense of history" he established the ephemeral but whimsically named "National Government of Moab" inKerak with himself as president, which lasted untilAbdullah took control of the country. (His younger brother Alan similarly formed the "Ammonite Government" inAmman.) From 1922 to 1927 and from 1937 to 1939, he was governor ofAcre and of the district ofGalilee inPalestine. He was Deputy Resident in Transjordan from 1927 to 1937 andResident from 1939 to 1946, and was one of Abdullah's leading British advisors.
In 1946 Transjordan gained independence. Kirkbride was then appointedambassador of theUnited Kingdom to The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (which becameThe Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949) and played an important diplomatic role during the1948 Arab-Israeli war.
From 1952 to 1954, he was ambassador toLibya. He was appointed KCMG in the1949 Birthday Honours.
He ended his career as director of theBritish Bank of the Middle East, later writing academic books and articles on the Middle East, including two volumes of memoirs.
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