| Sir Keith Officer | |
| Ambassador From: | Australian |
| Country: | France |
| Term Start: | 18 April 1950 |
| Term End: | March 1955 |
| Ambassador From2: | Australian |
| Country2: | China |
| Term Start2: | 15 November 1948 |
| Term End2: | 17 October 1949 |
| Successor2: | Vacant |
| Term Start3: | 1946 |
| Term End3: | 1948 |
| Birth Date: | 2 October 1889 |
| Birth Place: | Toorak, Victoria, Australia |
| Death Place: | Southampton, England |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Alma Mater: | University of Melbourne (LLB) |
| Occupation: | Public servant and diplomat |
| Allegiance: | Australia |
| Serviceyears: | 1914–1919 |
| Mawards: | Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3) |
Sir Frank Keith Officer, (2 October 1889 – 21 June 1969) was an Australian public servant and diplomat, best known for his postings in ambassadorial positions around the world.
Keith Officer was born on 2 October 1889 in Toorak, Melbourne. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and Melbourne University where he was resident at Ormond College.[1]
Between 1914 and 1918, Officer served with the First Australian Imperial Force in Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium.[2]
From 1919 to 1923, Officer was a political officer of the British Colonial Service in Nigeria.[3]
He joined the Australian Department of External Affairs in 1927.[4]
In 1940, Officer was appointed counsellor to the Australian legation in Japan,[5] second in command to Sir John Latham.[6] He was Charge d'Affaires in Tokyo when the Pacific War broke out.[7]
Between 1946 and 1948, Officer was Australian Minister to the Netherlands.[8] [9] Officer was offered the post of Australian Minister to Moscow in 1947.[10]
In 1948, Officer was appointed Australian Ambassador to the Republic of China.[11] [12] He was recalled from Nanjing in November 1949 to consult with the Department of External Affairs on the recognition by the United Kingdom of the Communist Government in China.[13]
Between 1950 and 1955 Officer was Australian Ambassador to France.[14] He retired from the Commonwealth Public Service at the end of March 1950.[14] His retirement prompted External Affairs Minister Richard Casey to write a letter touching on Officer's work, in which he said: "you can properly regard yourself not only as one of the founders of the Australian Foreign Service but as a model which men of succeeding generations can seek to emulate."[15]
In 1917, Officer was awarded the Military Cross. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. In the 1950 Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor, for services as ambassador in Paris.