The Hon. Edward Erskine (28 March 1817 – 19 April 1883) was a British diplomat who was envoy to Greece and Sweden and Norway.

Early life

Edward Morris Erskine was born on 28 March 1817. He was the fourth son of

David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (12 August 1776 – 19 March 1855) was a British diplomat and politician. Background and education A member of Clan Erskine, Erskine was the eldest son of Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, fourth son of ...

, and his wife Frances, daughter of General John Cadwalader.

Career

He entered the diplomatic service as attaché to his father at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, and after various junior posts including attaché at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

he was appointed secretary of legation at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

in 1852. He was transferred to the same post 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, ...

in May 1858 but moved again to Stockholm at the end of that year. In April 1860 he was posted to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, again as secretary of legation, but moved on in November to the same role at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. In 1864 he was appointed

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

to Greece.

During his stay there nothing of importance happened until the
Dilessi murders The Dilessi murders were committed between 4 and 7 April 1870, when one Italians, Italian and three English people, English aristocracy, aristocrats were murdered at Dilesi ( gr, Δήλεσι), a coastal town in eastern Boeotia, by Greeks, Greek b ...
in 1870 (the seizure of Lord and Lady Muncaster and their party by brigands, who killed several of the hostages). Erskine's handling of the affair was much criticized, but in his temperate reaction he reflected the view of the British cabinet, which wished to avoid being pushed into Palmerstonian 'gunboat' diplomacy.
– ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

In 1872 Erskine was transferred to be Minister to Sweden and Norway. His duties there included negotiation of a bilateral treaty on the extradition of criminals (superseded by later European conventions, currently the European Arrest Warrant). He remained at Stockholm until 1881, when he retired on a pension. Edward Erskine was appointed CB in 1873.

Personal life

On 24 July 1847 Edward Erskine married Caroline, daughter of Robert Hamilton Vaughan and widow of Andrew Loughnan. They had three daughters and a son. She died on 23 October 1877. Erskine died at his home, Neville House,

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, on 19 April 1883.

References

External links

Hon. Edward Morris Erskine
– thepeerage.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Edward Morris 1817 births 1883 deaths Edward Morris Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden Companions of the Order of the Bath Younger sons of barons