Clive Baillieu, 1st Baron Baillieu

Who was Clive Baillieu, 1st Baron Baillieu?

Clive Latham Baillieu, 1st Baron Baillieu KBE CMG was an Australian-British rower, businessman and public servant.

Baillieu was born in Melbourne, the son of William Baillieu, an Australian politician and financial expert, and his wife Bertha Martha. The Baillieu family was of Belgian descent but had earlier lived in England. Baillieu was educated at Melbourne Grammar, and then Trinity College, Melbourne University. He subsequently moved to England where he studied at Magdalen College, Oxford. Baillieu rowed at Oxford and in 1911 was a member of the winning Magdalen College crew in the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. In 1913 he was a member of the Oxford crew in the Boat Race.

In 1914 Baillieu was called to the Bar at Inner Temple. He then served in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches and achieved the rank of Major in the Australian Imperial Forces and temporary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Air Force. During the Second World War he notably served the British Government as Director-General of the British Purchasing Commission in Washington from 1941 to 1942 and as Head of the Raw Materials Mission in Washington and as Representative on the Combined Raw Materials Board from 1942 to 1943.