David Howe Gillmore, Baron Gillmore of Thamesfield, GCMG,(16 August 1934 – 20 March 1999) was a

British diplomat 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 d ...

. He retired in 1994 after a distinguished

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

ic career in which he was a leading light in

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

's extrication of the UK from its policy of confronting apartheid South Africa. He was educated at

Trent College Trent College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school located in Long Eaton, Derbyshire between Nottingham and Derby. Founded in 1868 as a local ’middle class alternative’ to the more famous public schools, it is now a coedu ...

Career

After service in

HM Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

from 1953 to 1955, he spent a short time living in Paris, before returning to the UK to work as a French and English teacher at Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell, London, from 1967 - 1970, where he will be remembered. He joined 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 1970. Two years later, he was posted as First Secretary (Commercial) to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He was appointed

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 ...

UKDEL, MBFR

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1975. He was appointed Head of Defence Department FCO in 1979, becoming Assistant Under-Secretary of State in 1981. David Gillmore was appointed High Commissioner in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 1983. Gillmore was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office in 1991,

Family

David Gillmore married Lucile Sophie Morin in 1964. They had two sons (1967 and 1970).

Honours

On 21 February 1996, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Gillmore of Thamesfield, ''of Putney in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

''.

References

External links

Interview with David Howe, Baron Gillmore

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillmore, David 1934 births 1999 deaths Members of HM Diplomatic Service High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia Gillmore of Thamesfield Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs 20th-century British diplomats Life peers created by Elizabeth II