Sir Bernard Henry Bourdillon, GCMG, KBE (1883-1948), was a British colonial administrator who was Governor of Uganda (1932-1935) and of Nigeria (1935-1943).

 

Bourdillon was born on 3 December 1883 at Emu Bay, Tasmania (now Burnie).[1] He grew up in England and South Africa, and was educated at Tonbridge School in Tonbridge, Kent. He attended St John's College, Oxford, graduating in 1906. In 1908 he entered the Indian Civil Service. He married Violet Grace Billinghurst in November 1909. In 1935 Violet was described as "the perfect Governor's wife".

 

In 1913 Bourdillon was appointed Under-Secretary to the Government of the United Provinces. In 1915 he was made Registrar of the High Court of Allahabad. While in India he earned a reputation as a linguist. During the First World War, Bourdillon joined the army as a temporary Second Lieutenant in 1917, and was posted to Iraq in 1918. He rose to the rank of Major, and during the Iraq insurrection of 1919 he was mentioned in despatches.[3] Bourdillon left the army in 1919 to join the Iraq civil administration, and was appointed Political Secretary to the High Commissioner of Iraq in 1921. From 1924 to 1929 he was Counsellor. Between 1925 and 1926 he was High Commissioner with Plenipotentiary Powers in the negotiations over the 1926 Anglo-Iraq treaty.

 

After retirement Bourdillon continued to serve on the Colonial Economic and Development Council. He became treasurer and then chairman of the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. He was a director of Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), and of Barclays Overseas Development Corporation.

 

Bourdillon was appointed CMG, KBE, KCMG, GCMG. He was made a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and an honorary fellow of St John's College, Oxford.

 

He died on 6 February 1948 at St. Saviour in Jersey aged 64.