Sir Brian Leon Barder (20 June 1934 – 19 September 2017) was a British diplomat, author, blogger and
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
advocate.
Life and career
Barder was born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, the son of Harry and Vivien Barder.
He 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
, ...
and
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...
, where he was a member of the
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
, the Cambridge University Musical Comedy Club, the
St Catharine's College Boat Club and the
Cambridge University Labour Club
The Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC), formerly known as Cambridge Universities Labour Club, is a student political society, first founded as the Cambridge University Fabian Society in 1905 by Nick Davis, to provide a voice for British La ...
(chairman, 1957).
Barder did his
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
as
2nd Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
,
7th Royal Tank Regiment
The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959.
History
The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regimen ...
, in Hong Kong (1952–1954). He joined the
Colonial Office
The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
in
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1957 (
Private Secretary
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The role exists in t ...
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 ...
, 1960–61). He transferred to the
Diplomatic Service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...
in 1965. From 1964 to 1968 he was
First Secretary, UK Mission to the United Nations, dealing with decolonisation. He returned to 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 ...
in London as Assistant Head of West African Department, including dealing with
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
(1968–71). He became First Secretary and
Press Attaché
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or Brand awareness, awareness for any Product (business), product, Service (economics), service, person or organization (company, Charitable organization, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the mov ...
, Moscow (Soviet Union) (1971–73); and
Counsellor 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 ...
,
British High Commission
A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...
,
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
(Australia) (1973–77). In 1977-78 he was a course member at the
Canadian National Defence College,
Kingston,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. In 1978 he returned to London as Head of Central and Southern, later Southern African Department,
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 ...
(1978–82). He was
British Ambassador to Ethiopia (1982–86);
Ambassador to Poland (1986–88);
High Commissioner to Nigeria
Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioners, rather than ambassadors. Though there are a few technical differences, they are in practice one and the same office. The following persons have served as ...
and concurrently Ambassador to Bénin (1988–91) and
High Commissioner to Australia (1991–94).
He was awarded the
in 1992.
In 1958 Barder married Jane Maureen Cornwell. They had two daughters and one son, and two granddaughters. He lived in
Earlsfield
Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England. It is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, Al ...
, London, with his wife.
The Ethiopian famine
Barder was
British Ambassador to Ethiopia during the
Ethiopian famine of 1984-85. He played a key role in making possible the deployment of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
to Ethiopia for 14 months to move relief supplies from the ports to remote parts of the country where it was urgently needed. His role in the relief effort is described in The Ethiopian Famine,
[— History of Ethiopian famine of 1984-85.] and A Year in the Death of Africa.
[— History of Ethiopian famine of 1984-85.] In 2009 he took part in a BBC Radio 4 programme which brought together some of the key people involved in the Ethiopian famine including International Red Cross nurse
Claire Bertschinger
Dame Claire Bertschinger, DBE, DL (born 1953) is an Anglo-Swiss nurse and advocate on behalf of suffering people in the developing world. Her work in Ethiopia in 1984 inspired Band Aid and subsequently Live Aid, the biggest relief programme ev ...
(now Dame Claire); BBC reporter
Michael Buerk
Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's ''The Moral Maze'' since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama ...
; Dawit Wolde Giorgis, former head of the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission; and Hugh Goyder, former head of
Oxfam's Ethiopia programme.
After retirement
After retirement, Barder served on the Commonwealth Observer Mission, Namibian elections (1994); and as a Chair of Civil Service Selection Boards (1995–96). He was a Know-How Fund Consultant for diplomatic training in East and Central Europe (1996); a member of the Committee of the Speech and Debate Centre of the English-Speaking Union (1996–2009); a member of the Board of Management of the
Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (1996–2003); a founder member of the
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (also known by the acronym SIAC) is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by t ...
(1997–2004);
and Honorary Visiting Fellow to the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester (2006- ).
Resignation from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
Barder was appointed to the
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (also known by the acronym SIAC) is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by t ...
(SIAC) in November 1997, three years after his retirement from the diplomatic service. He resigned in January 2004 when the Government extended the role of SIAC in a way which he believed to be contrary to Britain's international obligations. He set out the reasons for his resignation in the London Review of Books
and in The Guardian.
The
Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 made SIAC additionally responsible for hearing appeals by persons indefinitely detained without trial by the Home Secretary on suspicion of being connected with terrorism but who could not be deported because there was no country to which they could safely be sent. Barder took the view, subsequently endorsed by the
Law Lords
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
, that sending people to prison indefinitely and without trial and without even being charged with any offence was a breach of Britain's obligations under the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
and the
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Con ...
. On 16 December 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was indeed incompatible with the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, but under the terms of the
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Con ...
it remained in force. It has since been replaced by the
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of eight foreigners (known as the 'Belmarsh 8') at H ...
.
Blogging and publications
After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Barder wrote a popular blog
and was a regular contributor to the
LabourList
LabourList is a British news website supportive of, but independent of, the Labour Party, launched in 2009. Describing itself as Labour's "biggest independent grassroots e-network", the site's content includes news, commentary, interviews, campa ...
website. He had articles and letters published in
The Political Quarterly
''The Political Quarterly'' is an academic journal of political science that first appeared from 1914 to 1916 and was revived by Leonard Woolf, Kingsley Martin, and William A. Robson in 1930. Its editors-in-chief are Ben Jackson (University of Ox ...
,
London Review of Books
The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews.
History
The ''London Review of ...
,
Prospect,
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
,
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
,
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy (HJD) is a peer-reviewed academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals se ...
, and elsewhere. He was Editorial Consultant for ''A Dictionary of Diplomacy'' and contributed to the Third Edition of
Fowler's Modern English Usage
''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1926), by Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933), is a style guide to British English usage, pronunciation, and writing. Covering topics such as plurals and literary technique, distinctions among like words ...
.
Barder's book, ''What Diplomats Do: The Life and Work of Diplomats'' was published in July 2014. Not a diplomatic memoir, it describes a diplomat's day-to-day life and work through a typical but fictitious diplomatic career. It has been described as "massively authoritative, and original ... a brilliant book" (G R Berridge, Emeritus Prof., Leicester University); "excellent ... I found reading its chapters irresistible, like eating peanuts" (Prof. Alan Henrikson, Tufts University).
Barder wrote and kept a diary during his overseas postings, covering some of his time in the USSR, Ethiopia, Poland and Nigeria. His daughter Louise edited and published the diary in June 2019, with the title ''Brian Barder's Diplomatic Diary''.
References
External links
Official websiteBarder's blogInterview with Sir Brian Leon Bardertranscript British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barder, Brian
1934 births
2017 deaths
Members of HM Diplomatic Service
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Poland
High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Australia
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
People educated at Sherborne School
Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
English bloggers
British political websites
Royal Tank Regiment officers
High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Benin
Military personnel from Bristol
British male bloggers
20th-century British diplomats