Sir Francis Dillon Bell KCMG CB (8 October 1822 – 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. He served as New Zealand's third Minister of Finance (the first parliamentary finance minister), and later as its third Speaker of the House. The town of Bell Block near New Plymouth – on land Bell bought from the Puketapu iwi in 1849 – is named after him, as is Bell Street, Whanganui. Bell's son, Francis Henry Dillon Bell, became the first New Zealand born Prime Minister in 1925.

Early life

Bell is believed to have been born in Bordeaux, France, where his father, Edward Bell, was the British consul. He grew up speaking both English and French fluently. When his family ran into financial problems, his father's cousin, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, managed to secure Bell a position as a clerk in the New Zealand Company's head office in London. As a result of office politics, however, it eventually became expedient for Bell to go to New Zealand in person, acting as an agent for the Company.