Sir Derek Plumbly (born 15 May 1948) is a British diplomat who has served throughout the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. From 2012 to 2015, he served as the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon.

Early life

Plumbly was born in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

in Hampshire. He attended Brockenhurst Grammar School. He studied politics, philosophy and economics at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. After graduating, Plumbly signed up for

Voluntary Service Overseas Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact throug ...

and taught for a year and a half in Sukkur in

Pakistan's Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Sindh province Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. Plumbly subsequently studied

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, first at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in

Shemlan Shemlan ( ar, شملان), (also spelled Chemlane, Chimlane, Shimlan) is a village in the Aley District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon, located about 25 km from Beirut. History Shemlan is first mentioned in chronicles as early as ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, where he lived with a local family for a year, and then at the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...

Career

Plumbly has served in a variety of postings around the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and elsewhere, including Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. In February 2008 he was appointed by

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

ese President Omar al-Bashir to head the

Assessment and Evaluation Commission Assessment may refer to: Healthcare *Health assessment, identifies needs of the patient and how those needs will be addressed *Nursing assessment, gathering information about a patient's physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual s ...

, charged with monitoring the implementation of Sudan's

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ar, اتفاقية السلام الشامل, Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on January 9, 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Moveme ...

.About the AEC
. Assessment and Evaluation Commission web site. Retrieved 7 July 2009. In 2011, he was appointed as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL); he served in this position from 2012 to 2015. Since 2015, he is Visiting Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London.

Timeline of career

*United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (2012-2015) http://unscol.unmissions.org/ *Chairman of the

(2008–2011) *Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(2003–2007) *Ambassador to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(2000–2003) *FCO director for the Middle East and North Africa (1990s) *Deputy head of mission in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

(1988–1992) * FCO Desk Officer for the Middle East Department (1982–1984) *First secretary in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

(1977–1980) *Second secretary in the Chancery at

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

(1975–1977)

Notes

References

Curriculum Vitae of Sir Derek Plumbly
Assessment and Evaluation Commission web site. Retrieved 7 July 2009. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumbly, Derek 1948 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Egypt Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Living people University of Jordan alumni Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats

Early life

Career

Timeline of career

See also

Notes

References