Sir Antony Arthur Acland (12 March 1930 – 8 September 2021) was a British diplomat and a provost of Eton College.

Early life

Antony Acland was the second son of Bridget Susan (Barnett) and Brigadier Peter Acland. He was educated at Eton College, then in 1948 joined the Royal Artillery with a post-war "emergency commission". After short army service he went up to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, gaining a BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1953 (later upgraded to MA). After leaving Oxford in 1953 he went straight into 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 ...

(FO).

Career

After studying at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Acland was posted to Dubai and then Kuwait, then back to the FO as Assistant Private Secretary to the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

( Selwyn Lloyd, then Lord Home) 1959–62. He then served at the UK Mission to the UN, first in New York City 1962–66, then at Geneva 1966–68. Back 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 ...

(FCO) he was head of the Arabian department 1970–72. Acland was Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary ( Sir Alec Douglas-Home, then

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...

) 1972–75. He was Ambassador to Luxembourg 1975–77 and to Spain 1977–79. He was Deputy Under-Secretary at the FCO 1979–82, a post which then entailed chairing the Joint Intelligence Committee. In 1982 he was promoted to

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 se ...

and head of the Diplomatic Service. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982 and Acland came into collision with the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, over the diplomatic response. At one point during a heated discussion he threatened to resign, whereupon Thatcher backed down and said "All right, no more Foreign Office bashing." Acland was

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident repre ...

at Washington, D.C., 1986–91, then retired from the Diplomatic Service and was Provost of Eton College 1991–2000. Acland was a member of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford, helping to raise funds for the Institute's building and library.

Honours

Acland was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

and made a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in November of that year after the Queen's state visit to Luxembourg, after which he was styled "''Sir'' Antony Acland". He was given the additional knighthood of

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in the

1982 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplem ...

and promoted to Knight Grand Cross of that same order in the

1986 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the

1991 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1991 for the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, were announced on 14 June 19 ...

. He was Chancellor of the Order of St Michael and St George between 1994 and 2005. In 2001 he was given the rare honour of appointment as a

Knight of the Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

Personal life

In 1956, Acland married Clare Anne Verdon; they had a daughter and two sons, including Simon Acland. Clare died in 1984; in 1987 he married Jennifer McGougan. He died in September 2021, at the age of 91. His death came one day before that of fellow Knight of the Garter Sir

Timothy Colman Sir Timothy James Alan Colman (19 September 1929 – 9 September 2021) was a British businessman and a Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Biography Colman was from the Colman's mustard family, and was the son of Lettice Elizabeth Evelyn Adeane and G ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Antony 1930 births 2021 deaths Antony Arthur People educated at Eton College Royal Artillery officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Spain Chairs of the Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom) Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Provosts of Eton College Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 20th-century British diplomats