Charles Boswell
| Charles Boswell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Bay of Islands |
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In office 1938 – 1943 |
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| Preceded by | Harold Rushworth |
| Succeeded by | Sidney Walter Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Charles Wallace Boswell 5 August 1886 |
| Died | 17 June 1956 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
Charles Wallace Boswell (1886–1956) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
He represented the Bay of Islands electorate from 1938 to 1943, when he was defeated by National's Sidney Walter Smith.
He was then appointed as the (first and only) Minister in charge of the Moscow Embassy in the USSR from 1944 to 1950.. He declined to report to some clerk in External Affairs, writing instead personal letters to the Prime Minister (which secretly Fraser rather enjoyed). His (and James Barclays) appointments attracted criticism as political appointments, as did his ordering of seven suits when clothing was rationed. But this was eclipsed by the "great furniture scandal" of items to be shipped from New Zealand to Moscow (via Tehran and Central Asia) for the new Legation, including 40 armchairs, 10 couches and a billiard table plus palm stands! The order dreamed up by the Public Works Department and which could have seated almost the entire House of Representatives was cancelled by Peter Fraser.
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