Frederick Williamson

Frederick Williamson CIE (1891–1935) was a British Political Officer stationed in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet in the 1930s. He was also an explorer and a founding member of the Himalayan Club. It was 'largely owing to his influence and the esteem in which he was held in Lhasa' that Tibet permitted the 1935 and 1936 Mount Everest Expeditions. His life was cut short by a chronic illness which occurred in Lhasa during November 1935 on a mission to negotiate a settlement between Tibet and Thubten Choekyi Nyima, 9th Panchen Lama. On the announcement of his death, the Government of India stated that 'it robbed the Government of a most valuable officer'.