   sir james allen  (10 february 1855 â 28 july 1942) was a prominent new zealand politician and diplomat. he held a number of the most important political offices in the country, including minister of finance and minister of foreign affairs. he was also new zealand's minister of defence during world war i. ==early life== allen was born in adelaide, australia. after his mother's early death, his father took him to dunedin, new zealand, where the family resided for several years. in either 1861 or 1862, however, allen and his brother were given into the care of an uncle in somerset, england. shortly afterwards, allen's father also died, leaving him an orphan. despite this rather turbulent beginning to his life, allen made a good start. after first attending clifton college in bristol (having won a scholarship to do so), he gained admittance to st john's college at cambridge university. he graduated with a ba in 1877. shortly afterwards, allen decided to return to dunedin, where he had inherited a significant amount of property from his father. in dunedin, allen was highly successful, serving on the city council and even playing for the otago provincial rugby team. he left for england once again in 1883, studying at the royal school of mines for several years. when he returned to dunedin, he established a presence in otago's coal and gold mining industries. ==early parliamentary career==       {{nz parlbox |start= |end=1902 |term=14th |ele
1855_births 1942_deaths Alumni_of_St_John\'s_College,_Cambridge Australian_emigrants_to_New_Zealand Burials_at_Dunedin_Northern_Cemetery High_Commissioners_of_New_Zealand_to_the_United_Kingdom Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath Knights_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George Members_of_the_Cabinet_of_New_Zealand Members_of_the_New_Zealand_House_of_Representatives Members_of_the_New_Zealand_Legislative_Council New_Zealand_MPs_for_Dunedin_electorates New_Zealand_MPs_for_South_Island_electorates New_Zealand_Reform_Party_MPs New_Zealand_defence_ministers New_Zealand_diplomats New_Zealand_education_ministers New_Zealand_finance_ministers New_Zealand_foreign_ministers New_Zealand_knights New_Zealand_recipients_of_the_LA(c)gion_d\'honneur Officiers_of_the_LA(c)gion_d\'honneur People_educated_at_Clifton_College People_from_Adelaide Unsuccessful_candidates_in_the_New_Zealand_general_election,_1890