David Howe Gillmore, Baron Gillmore of Thamesfield,
GCMG
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 ...
,(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 ...
. He retired in 1994 after a distinguished
diplomatic career in which he was a leading light in
John Major's extrication of the
UK from its policy of confronting
apartheid South Africa
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. 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
Wilson's School is a state boys' grammar school with academy status in the London Borough of Sutton, England.
It was founded as Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell in 1615, making it one of the country's oldest state schools. The school move ...
in Camberwell, London, from 1967 - 1970, where he will be remembered. He joined the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 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 millio ...
. He was appointed
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 ...
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
This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790.
Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Permanent Unde ...
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 as Baron Gillmore of Thamesfield, ''of
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
in the
London Borough of Wandsworth''.
References
External links
Interview with David Howe, Baron Gillmoretranscript 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