Sir Alan Hugh Campbell (1 July 1919 – 7 October 2007) was a British diplomat and civil servant. He was British ambassador to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

from 1969 to 1972 and to Italy from 1976 to 1979, and also held senior posts in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in London.

Early life and education

Campbell's father had retired from the family business, Ibert & Co, and bought a large house, Combe Royal, near Kingsbridge on the south coast of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. Alan Campbell was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

from 1932 to 1937.''Some Fascinating and Famous Alumni'' Sherborne, accessed 24 February 2010
/ref> He was

fluent Fluency (also called volubility and eloquency) is the property of a person or of a system that delivers information quickly and with expertise. Language use Language fluency is one of a variety of terms used to characterize or measure a person ...

in French and German, and read modern languages at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He obtained a First in his Part I examinations, but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

intervened before Part II. He briefly served in the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

before being commissioned in the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

. He later served as a staff officer in

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

Diplomatic career

Campbell joined the

in 1946. He became Private Secretary to the

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

, Sir William Strong (later Baron Strong) in 1950. During his period as Private Secretary, the civil service was rocked by the defections of diplomats

Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...

and Donald Maclean. He served as

first secretary First Secretary may refer to: * First minister, a leader of a government * Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization * First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...

in Rome and then in Peking from 1952 to 1957, and spent a year at the Imperial Defence College in 1958. He became Assistant Head of the news department in 1959, and then joined the British Mission to the United Nations in 1961, as

Counsellor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

and

Head of Chancery A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

to Sir Patrick Dean and then

Lord Caradon Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron Caradon (8 October 1907 – 5 September 1990) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the last governor of British Cyprus. E ...

. During his period in New York City, he was closely involved in the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. He was appointed CMG in 1964. He was Head of the Western Department at the

from 1965 to 1967, dealing with Britain's relationships with its allies in western Europe, and then Counsellor in Paris from 1967 to 1969, where he was Counsellor and Head of Chancery to Sir Patrick Reilly and Christopher Soames. He was then ambassador to

from 1969 to 1972, at the court of Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. As he was driven to present his credentials to the Emperor, he noticed people bowing, saluting and kneeling as he passed by, because his car was flying the flag of the Emperor in addition to the ambassador's flag. He reported that Haile Selassie was dignified and regal and "with an air of grave benevolence". He returned to London as Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

from 1972 to 1974, supervising the departments dealing with southern Africa, and then a Deputy Under-Secretary of State from 1974 to 1976, as political director. He was British ambassador to Italy from 1976 to 1979, while the Red Brigades were active – former

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

Aldo Moro was abducted and murdered in 1978. He was advanced to KCMG in 1976 and GCMG in 1979.

Later career

He later worked as a foreign affairs advisor to Rolls-Royce, and was a director of

National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

and Mercantile and General Reinsurance. He was Chairman of the British-Italian Society from 1983 to 1990, and Chairman of the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. History The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...

from 1987 to 1994. He was a member of the council of the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

for 8 years. He was also a Governor of

from 1973 to 1987. He published his memoirs, ''Colleagues and Friends'', in 1988.

Additional personal information

He was a member of the

Beefsteak Club Beefsteak Club is the name or nickname of several 18th- and 19th-century male dining clubs in Britain and Australia that celebrated the beefsteak as a symbol of patriotic and often Whig concepts of liberty and prosperity. The first beefsteak clu ...

and Brooks's, and enjoyed playing tennis. He retired to the West Country, where he enjoyed painting

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s. He married Margaret Jean Taylor, an Australian, in 1947. She died in 1999 after a long illness. In later life, he lived in a flat in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. He died in London, survived by his three daughters.

References

External links

Interview with Sir Alan Hugh Campbell

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996
Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 October 2007Obituary, ''The Independent'', 13 October 2007Obituary, ''The Times'', 18 October 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alan 1919 births 2007 deaths People educated at Sherborne School Devonshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II British Special Operations Executive personnel Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Suffolk Regiment soldiers British expatriates in China British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in France