Sir Ralph Griffith, K.C.S.I., C.I.E. (4 March 1882 – 11 December 1963) was an administrator in British India and served as the last Chief Commissioner and the first Governor of the North-West Frontier Province during the British Raj.
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Ralph Edwin Hotchkin Griffith was the younger brother of Sir Francis Griffith and the son of Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826–1906) Educated at Blundell's School and the Royal Military College. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1899, promoted to Lieutenant in 1901 and to Captain in 1910.
Griffith joined the Indian Political Service (which then recruited half and half from the Indian Army and the Indian Civil Service and served an apprecticeship under Sir George Roos-Keppel and, like him, was a fluent speaker of Pashto.
His early positions included Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar, secretary to the head of the Province and Resident in the turbulent region of Waziristan, where his influence and understanding of the Wazir tribesmen reduced tensions in the area.
Griffith succeeded Stuart Pearks as Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province in 1931. He became the first Governor in 1932 when the importance of the northern shield was recognised by the raising of the status of the Pathan land to that or a Governor's province. He served as Governor until 1937 during the formative inter-war period.
Griffith was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1917, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel by 1930 and was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1932.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Stuart Edmond Pearks |
Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province 1931–1932 |
Succeeded by abolished |
| Preceded by - |
Governor of the North-West Frontier Province 1932–1937 |
Succeeded by Sir George Cunningham |