Sir David John Edward Ratford is a retired British diplomat and translator.

Early life

David John Edward Ratford was born on 22 April 1934 to George Ratford and Lilian Ratford (). Ratford was educated at Whitgift Middle School. Ratford attended

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, graduating with a 1st class Honours degree in Medieval and Modern Languages.

Diplomatic career

Ratford completed his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the Intelligence Corps from 1953 to 1955.

Ambassador to Norway

Ratford was appointed the

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

in 1990, succeeding Sir John Robson. Ratford left this appointment in 1994.

Retirement

In April 2004, Ratford signed an open letter to Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, expressing concern over Blair's policy on the Arab-Israel conflict and the

Iraq war {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In December 2004, Ratford signed a further open letter, urging Blair to commission an independent inquiry into the number of civilian casualties in Iraq since the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Personal life

Ratford married Ulla Monica in 1960.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratford, David 1934 births Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Norway Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge British diplomats Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George