Sir Henry Drummond Charles Wolff (12 October 1830 – 11 October 1908), known as Henry Drummond Wolff, was an English diplomat and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, who started as a clerk in 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 ...

Background

Wolff was born in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, the son of

Joseph Wolff Joseph Wolff (1795 – 2 May 1862) was a Jewish Christian missionary born in Weilersbach, near Bamberg, Germany, named Wolff after his paternal grandfather. He travelled widely, and was known as "the missionary to the world". He published sev ...

and Lady Georgiana Mary Walpole, daughter of

Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford (13 ''or'' 24 June 1752 – 15 June 1822), styled The Honourable Horatio Walpole between 1757 and 1806 and Lord Walpole between 1806 and 1809, was a British peer and politician. Background Orford was the son ...

. His father was a missionary who had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and then Anglicanism, and his mother was the niece of Prime Minister

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

. Wolff was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

Political and diplomatic career

Henry Drummond-Wolff, Vanity Fair, 1874-09-05

Wolff sat in parliament for

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

from 1874 to 1880 and for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

from 1880 to 1885. Whilst MP for Christchurch he lived in

Boscombe Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne. Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...

, where he developed the Boscombe Spa estate, and he played an active role in the public life of

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. In 1870 he presented Bournemouth Rowing Club with a four-oared racing boat. He was one of the group known as the

Fourth Party The Fourth Party was an informal label given to four British MPs, Lord Randolph Churchill, Henry Drummond Wolff, John Gorst and Arthur Balfour, who gained national attention by acting together in the 1880–1885 parliament. They attacked wha ...

. In 1885 he went on a special mission to

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 (" ...

and

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 ...

in connection with the Eastern Question, and as a result various awkward difficulties, hinging on the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

, were addressed. Wolff negotiated a settlement whereby Britain and Turkey would each appoint a commissioner to Egypt to help the

khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Kh ...

's government conduct reforms of the army and the government. Wolff then assumed the role of British high commissioner in Egypt from 1885 to 1887. He was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Teheran in 1888, a post he held until 1891, and was then Ambassador to Madrid from 1892 to 1900. While serving in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, he would assist Ambassador

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

, of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in out maneuvering Foreign Minister O'Donnell. Wolff was a notable raconteur and aided the Conservative Party by helping to found the

Primrose League The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883. At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...

. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1862 for various services abroad. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1878 and made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(GCB) in 1889. As the British Minister of Iran, he assisted Antoine Kitabgi Khan, the Director General of Persian Customs, in the negotiations that led

Nasir al-Din Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...

to grant a concession of full monopoly over Iran's tobacco industry to Major G. F. Talbot (20 March 1890). This concession resulted in the

Tobacco Protest The Persian Tobacco Protest (Persian: نهضت تنباکو ''nehzat-e tanbāku'') was a Shia Muslim revolt in Iran against an 1890 tobacco concession granted by Nasir al-Din Shah of Persia to the United Kingdom, granting British control over g ...

of 1891 and is generally considered to mark the beginning of social unrest and clear Islamic clerical influence leading up to the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1905. In 1901, as Kitabgi Khan was looking in Europe for capitalists who might be interested in investing in oil prospection in Iran, Wolff introduced him to Englishman

William Knox D'Arcy William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British businessman who was one of the principal founders of the oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and allowed D'Arcy to explore, o ...

, who had made a fortune in gold mines in Australia. On 28 May 1901, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah granted D'Arcy the first oil concession in Iran that later gave birth to British Petroleum. The deed of concession stipulated that Wolff would have 10% of the profits resulting from the venture.Davoudi Leonardo, "Petroleum and the British Empire: From the D'Arcy Concession to the First World War. PhD Thesis, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, 2017.

Personal life

Wolff's only daughter, Lucas Cleeve, was a novelist. Her son

Algernon Kingscote Algernon Robert Fitzhardinge "Algy" Kingscote (3 December 1888 – 21 December 1964) was a British tennis player, who won the Men's Singles event at the Australasian Championships in 1919. Kingscote also competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics i ...

was a notable tennis player. Wolff's grandson

Henry Maxence Cavendish Drummond Wolff Henry Maxence Cavendish Drummond Wolff (16 July 1899 – 8 February 1982), commonly known as Henry Drummond Wolff, was a British Conservative Party politician. Drummond Wolff was known for his close ties to the far right. Political career From e ...

was briefly the Conservative Member of Parliament for

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. He died at Brighton, one day before his 78th birthday.

In popular culture

Wolff was portrayed by

Charles Lloyd-Pack Charles Lloyd-Pack (10 October 1902 – 22 December 1983) was a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Lloyd-Pack was born at Wapping, East London, to working-class parents. He was seen in several horror films produced by th ...

in the 1974 Thames TV mini-series ''Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill''.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Henry Drummond 1830 births 1908 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People from Boscombe Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British people of German-Jewish descent Jewish British politicians Ambassadors of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Spain