Sir Donald Logan (25 August 1917 – 23 October 2009) was a British diplomat who was closely involved with the Suez crisis, afterwards ambassador to Guinea, Bulgaria and the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea.

Career

Donald Arthur Logan was educated at

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational Independent school (UK), independent day school in Solihull, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmi ...

and then worked in insurance, becoming a Fellow of the

Chartered Insurance Institute The Chartered Insurance Institute (also known as the CII) is a professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. The CII's purpose, as set out in its 1912 royal charter, is to 'Secure an ...

in 1939. During

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 ...

he served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He joined the

Foreign 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 o ...

in 1945 and served at

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

before being appointed in 1956 to be assistant private secretary to the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

Selwyn Lloyd John Selwyn Brooke Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, (28 July 1904 – 18 May 1978) was a British politician. Born and raised in Cheshire, he was an active Liberal as a young man in the 1920s. In the following decade, he practised as a barrister and s ...

. In this capacity he was closely involved with the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

and was present at the meetings leading to the Sèvres Protocol in October 1956. He said much later that he was also present at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

on 20 December 1956 and was the only person there who knew that the Prime Minister,

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

, lied to the House about Britain's foreknowledge of Israel's attack on Egypt. Logan then served at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 1958–60, then as Britain's first resident

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

1960–62, at 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 ...

1962–64, as Information Counsellor at the embassy in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

1964–70, as Ambassador to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

1970–73, as deputy UK Representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

1973–75, and finally as leader of the UK delegations to the

United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

1976–77 and to the Conference on Marine Living Resources of Antarctica 1978–80. Logan was appointed CMG in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1965 and knighted KCMG in the

1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and ...

Private life

In 1957, Logan married Irène Jocelyne Angèle Everts (1922), daughter of Dr Gerhard Robert Everts (1875–1942; :nl:Robert Everts), who was of Dutch descent but who had become a Belgian citizen in 1898 and served in the Belgian diplomatic service from 1900, lastly as ambassador to Madrid (1932–1938).''

Nederland's Patriciaat ''Nederland's Patriciaat'', informally known as ''Het Blauwe Boekje'' (the little blue book), is a book series published annually since 1910, containing the genealogies of important Dutch patrician non-noble families. It is published by the Centraal ...

'' 92 (2013), p. 254.

References

LOGAN, Sir Donald (Arthur)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012

(obituary), ''The Telegraph'', London, 1 November 2009
Sir Donald Logan obituary
''The Guardian'', London, 3 November 2009

''The Independent'', London, 3 November 2009
"Suez" by Sir Donald Logan with other papers from the Sèvres Conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Donald Arthur 1917 births 2009 deaths People educated at Solihull School People of the Suez Crisis Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Guinea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery personnel