(Hugh) Glencairn Balfour Paul (23 September 1917 – 2 July 2008) was a British Arabist and diplomat. He served as the British Ambassador to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

before becoming an academic at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

Biography

The son of

John William Balfour Paul Lieutenant Colonel John William Balfour Paul (4 June 1873 – 23 April 1957) was a Scottish soldier and officer of arms in the Court of the Lord Lyon. He was the son of James Balfour Paul and brother of Arthur Forman Balfour Paul, and educated at ...

, he was born in Moniaive in Dumfriesshire, educated at Lime House school near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, then at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

, before going to

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 ...

, in 1936, to read Classics. He served with the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

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 ...

before being sent east 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 ...

and then on to

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 ...

to the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a locally recruited British-led force formed in 1925 to assist the police in the event of civil unrest, and to maintain the borders of British administered Sudan. During the Second World War, it also served bey ...

. After the war he served the Sudan Political Service as a District Commissioner in the Blue Nile and

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

provinces. Before leaving Sudan in 1954, he set out on a camel trek to explore the foothills of eastern Ennedi in nearby

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. After some days alone he met up with his local guide, Ordugu, who had worked with Wilfred Thesiger on his expedition to the Tibesti Mountains decades earlier. On returning to Britain he joined the Diplomatic Service. Following a first posting in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

he became First Secretary in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and later Political Agent in Dubai, followed by a brief stint in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

as Deputy to

William Luce William Aubert Luce (October 16, 1931 – December 9, 2019) was an American writer, primarily for the stage and television.Barnes, Mik"William Luce, 'Belle of Amherst' and 'Barrymore' Playwright, Dies at 88"''The Hollywood Reporter'' December 9, ...

. He was appointed Ambassador to

in 1969, Ambassador to Jordan in July 1972 and then Ambassador to Tunisia 1975-77. Having retired from the diplomatic service aged 60, Balfour Paul became Director-General of the Middle East Association in London before joining Exeter University as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies. On the day before his death in July 2008, Balfour Paul was present at the opening of an exhibition at the Center of his photographs of the Trucial States taken in the 1950s and 1960s. The Independent, p. 36, 24 July 2008. Whilst at Exeter he produced the volume ''The End of Empire in the Middle East'' (1991), and the Middle East section of ''The Oxford History of the British Empire''. He also wrote his memoirs, ''Bagpipes in Babylon'' (2006) and a collection of poetry, ''A Kind of Kindness'' (2000).

Honours

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) - 1968

References

BALFOUR-PAUL, (Hugh) Glencairn
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, April 2014

External links

Personal and literary papers of Glencairn Balfour-Paul
at the library of

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour Paul, Glencairn 1917 births 2008 deaths People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Sudan Political Service officers British expatriates in Chile British expatriates in Lebanon British expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Jordan Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Tunisia Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George