Sir David Arthur Roberts, KBE, CMG, CVO (8 August 1924 – 7 June 1987) was a British career diplomat who was ambassador to Lebanon, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

Career

David Roberts was educated at

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from Nursery to Sixth Form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premi ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

. After wartime service in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

he joined 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 1947. He served in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, with some intervening posts in London, before being appointed High Commissioner to Barbados in 1971. Roberts was Ambassador to Syria 1973–76; High Commissioner to Sierra Leone 1976–77; Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates 1977–81; and Ambassador to Lebanon 1981–83. He was knighted in the New Year Honours in 1983Supplement to the London Gazette, 31 December 1982
/ref> and was director-general of the Middle East Association 1983–85. In 1985 he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. Sir David was chairman of Herefordshire District Health Authority from 1986 until his death.

Publications

* ''The Ba'th and the Creation of Modern Syria'', Palgrave, 1987.

References

ROBERTS, Sir David (Arthur)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 14 Feb 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, David Arthur Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Lebanon Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Syria Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Barbados High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Sierra Leone Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1924 births 1987 deaths People educated at Hereford Cathedral School British Army personnel of World War II Royal Armoured Corps soldiers British expatriates in Iraq British expatriates in Japan British expatriates in Egypt British expatriates in Sudan British expatriates in Senegal