Sir Anthony St John Howard Figgis, (born October 1940) was Her Majesty's

Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps His Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is the King's link with the diplomatic community in London, arranges the annual diplomatic corps reception by th ...

in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 2001 to 2008. Unusually, he also held the post of Her Majesty's Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, from 1991 to 1996, when he became Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Early life

Figgis was born in 1940, and educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

Career

He joined

Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

in 1962. Figgis' first overseas posting was as

3rd Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

in Belgrade in 1963. In 1965 he was assigned to the

Commonwealth Office The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Common ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was

2nd Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

(Political Residency) in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

from 1968 to 1970, when he rejoined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Figgis' next posting was as

1st Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

(Commercial) in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, where he was stationed 1971 to 1974. He was in the

CSCE CSCE may refer to * China State Construction Engineering * Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange which merged to form the New York Board of Trade * Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe * Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe whic ...

delegation at

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

1974 to 1975 and again at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London 1975 to 1979. He returned to Madrid in 1979, initially as

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 ...

and then as Commercial Counsellor from 1980 to 1982. Figgis was assigned to Belgrade again in 1982, when he was made Counsellor, a post he held until 1985. From 1986 to 1988, Figgis was Head of the East European Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He was then Counsellor and Head of Chancery in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

from 1988 to 1989. He was subsequently Director of Research, and then of Research and Analysis, at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1989 to 1991. From 1991 to 1996, Figgis was Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Her Majesty's Vice-

. He is a patron of Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), a charity dedicated to reuniting children who have been separated from their families.

Awards and decorations

He became a

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

in 1996, was appointed CMG in 1993 and was knighted as a KCVO in 1996. In 2002, he was appointed

Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod is the Gentleman Usher to the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, established in 1818. If the office holder is female, she is referred to as the Lady Usher of the Blue Rod. The office was ...

, retiring in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figgis, Anthony 1940 births Living people People educated at Rugby School Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria Marshals of the Diplomatic Corps Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order