Sir Harry Charles Luke (born Harry Charles Lukach[1]) KCMG, GCStJ, D.Litt. of Oxford (1938) and honorary LLD of Malta, (London 1884 - Cyprus 1969) was an official in the British Colonial Office. He served in Barbados, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Sierra Leone, Palestine, Malta, the British Western Pacific Territories and Fiji. He is the author of some books on several of these countries.
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His father was an Austro-Hungarian, but later acquired American citizenship; his mother was a Polish Catholic of the minor nobility.
He was born in London in 1884 and educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Oxford, of which he became an Honorary Fellow in 1952.
Luke's first official appointment was as Private Secretary (1908) and Aide-de-Camp in Barbados, except for a period during May-July when he was attached to the Colonial Office. He served as Private Secretary to the High Commissioner of Cyprus (1911 -1912) and as Commissioner of Famagusta (1918-1920).
From 1909 to 1911 he was also second lieutenant in the London Yeomanry.
During World War I, he served as Commander of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the Syrian Coast, and as a Political Officer on the staff of Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss; for his services he was awarded the Italian medal for military valour.
In 1919 he was appointed Political Officer to the Admiral of the Fleet, Sir John de Robeck.
In 1920 he spent six months (from April to September) as British Chief Commissioner in Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan).
In 1921, he was Assistant Governor of Jerusalem and was appointed a member of the Haycraft Commission, which was established by Sir Herbert Samuel to investigate the cause of the riot which started in Jaffa on May 1 that year, and into the affairs of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
From 1924 to 1928 he held the post of Colonial Secretary of Sierra Leone.
He was subsequently appointed to be the acting High Commissioner to the Government of Palestine. He assumed this position on 19 July 1928 and held it until 6 December 1928.
In August 1929, acting as deputy to Sir John Robert Chancellor, he attempted to mediate an agreement between Jewish and Arab leaders, without success.
Later he was Lieutenant Governor of Malta (1930-1938) and Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner of the British Western Pacific Territories from 16 September 1938 to 21 July 1942.
On his retirement from the Colonial Service, in 1943, he was for three years Chief Representative of the British Council in the Caribbean.
He died in Cyprus, who he was often wintering, on May 11, 1969.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Herbert Onslow Plumer |
High Commissioner of Palestine (acting) 1928 |
Succeeded by Sir John Robert Chancellor |
| Preceded by Sir Arthur Frederick Richards |
High Commissioner for the Western Pacific 1938–1942 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Sir Alexander Grantham |
| Governor of Fiji 1938–1942 |
Succeeded by Sir Philip Euen Mitchell |
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