Frank Swettenham

Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH
Oil painting of Swettenham by John Singer Sargent
King of Arms of the Order of St Michael and St George
In office 1925–1938
Preceded by	Sir Montagu Ommanney
Succeeded by	Sir William Weigall
Majority	British
Resident-General of the Federated Malay States
In office 1896–1901
Succeeded by	William Hood Treacher
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements
In office 1901–1904
2nd British Resident of Perak
In office November 1875 – March 1876
Preceded by	James W.W. Birch
Succeeded by	James G. Davidson
5th British Resident of Perak
In office 1889–1896
Preceded by	Hugh Low
Succeeded by	William Hood Treacher
3rd British Resident of Selangor
In office September 1882 – March 1884
Preceded by	Bloomfield Douglas
Succeeded by	John Pickersgill Rodger
Personal details
Born	(1850-03-28)28 March 1850 Belper, England
Died	11 June 1946(1946-06-11) (aged 96) London, UK
Spouse(s)	Constance Sydney Holmes (Sydney Swettenham), m. February 1878, divorced May 1938 Vera Seton Guthrie, m. 22 June 1939
Residence	King's House, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occupation	British colonial official

Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang together under the administration of a Resident-General based in Kuala Lumpur. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur painter, photographer and antique collector. He was born in Belper, Derbyshire,Britain and was educated at the Dollar Academy in Scotland and St Peter's School, York. He was a descendant of Mathew Swetenham, Henry IV's bow bearer.

He was one of close to forty former British Empire officials to oppose the Malayan Union.

Swettenham co-authored a "A Dictionary of the Malay Language" with Hugh Clifford. The dictionary, which was published in stages between 1894 and 1902, was abandoned after the letter 'G' as by then it had been made redundant by the publiciation of R.J. Wilkinson's "A Malay English Dictionary".

He also published four books "Malay Sketches", "Unaddressed Letters", "Also & Perhaps" and "Arabella in Africa", the latter being illustrated by the famous mural painter and illustrator, Rex Whistler. The book was Whistler's first official commission.

Swettenham was a British colonial official in British Malaya, who was famous as highly influential in shaping British policy and the structure of British administration in the Malay Peninsula.