Sir David Francis Muirhead (30 December 1918 – 3 February 1999) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Peru, Portugal and Belgium.

Career

Muirhead was educated at Cranbrook School, Kent where he was a Cadet Serjeant in the Officers' Training Corps.The London Gazette, 13 July 1937
/ref> He was commissioned in the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

in 1937 with the rank of second lieutenant. In 1939, having passed the Officers Examination at

RMC Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry ...

, he was appointed to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and served during the Second World War in France, Belgium and South-East Asia.MUIRHEAD, Sir David (Francis)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 25 March 2012 In 1946 he passed the Foreign Service Examination and was appointed to 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 ...

. He was appointed consul at

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

in 1948,The London Gazette, 27 July 1948
/ref> and posted to Buenos Aires in 1949, Brussels in 1950, the Foreign Office in 1953, Washington in 1955 and the Foreign Office again in 1959, where he was

Under-Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

1966–67. He was

British Ambassador to Peru British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

1967–70, to Portugal 1970–74 and to Belgium 1974–78. He was a Special Representative of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1979–94, was a member of the Council of St Dunstan's 1981–89 and a Commissioner of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 1981–86. He was appointed CVO in 1957, CMG in 1964, and knighted KCMG in 1976.Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1976
/ref> He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Portuguese Military Order of Christ and the Grand Cross of the Peruvian Order of Distinguished Service.

Personal life

In 1942 David Muirhead married the Hon. Elspeth Hope-Morley, daughter of the 2nd Baron Hollenden and Lady Hollenden, née the Hon. Mary Gardner, daughter of Herbert Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere. They had two sons and one daughter. Lady Muirhead (as she became) died in 1989.

References

* Obituary, The Times, 10 February 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, David Francis 1918 births 1999 deaths People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent British Army personnel of World War II Artists' Rifles soldiers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Order of Christ (Portugal)