Sir David Hunt (25 September 1913 – 30 July 1998) was a British diplomat, perhaps best remembered as winner of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's '' Mastermind'' television quiz in 1977.

Life and career

Hunt was born in Durham, and studied at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. He served with distinction in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and entered the diplomatic service in 1947. He served as Private Secretary to prime ministers

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, and was knighted in 1963. From 1965 to 1967 he was the British High Commissioner to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. From 1967 to 1969, he served as

High Commissioner to Nigeria Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioner (Commonwealth), High Commissioners, rather than ambassadors. Though there are a few technical differences, they are in practice one and the same office. The ...

. Frederick Forsyth, then a journalist in Nigeria and later a successful novelist, described Hunt as "a snob and a racist" representing the diplomatic corps whose "blithering incompetence" failed to appreciate or deal with the tensions that erupted into the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

.Forsyth, Frederick (2015). The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue. NY, Putnams Forsyth claimed that Hunt was responsible for Britain's complete misreading of the war, contributing to the deaths of millions of

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 ...

ns, particularly starving children. Subsequently, beginning in 1969, Hunt was

British Ambassador to Brazil The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Brazil is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Brazil and the head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Brazil. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Federa ...

, retiring in 1973. Hunt won the ''Mastermind'' title in 1977 and was runner-up in the ''Mastermind International'' of 1979. In 1982, a ''Champion of Champions'' tournament among the first ten ''Mastermind'' champions was televised. Hunt won the overall title.

Publications

Hunt had a number of books published: * * * A revised edition of the two books ''A Don at war'' and ''On the spot: an ambassador remembers''. *. Co-authored with J.N. Coldstream

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, David 1913 births 1998 deaths Military personnel from County Durham British Army officers Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Brazil Contestants on British game shows High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Cyprus High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire