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
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
. He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
, then in 1948 joined the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
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 uniq ...
, 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
The Middle East Centre for Arab Studies (MECAS) was an Arabic language college created by the British Army during World War II in Jerusalem, and relocated afterwards as a civilian institution to Lebanon near Beirut where it functioned between 1947 ...
, 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 Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...
(
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
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
1966–68. Back at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...
(FCO) he was head of the Arabian department 1970–72.
Acland was
Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary (
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
, 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 s ...
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
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
, 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 ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization.
See also
*Ambassadors of the United States
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve ...
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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
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 celebr ...
and made a
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in November of that year after
the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
'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 in the
1982 Birthday Honours and promoted to
Knight Grand Cross
Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
of that same order in the
1986 Birthday Honours and
Knight Grand Cross 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 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.
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 ...
.
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