Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron Caradon (8 October 1907 – 5 September 1990) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the last governor of British Cyprus.

Early life and education

Hugh Mackintosh Foot was born in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 8 October 1907. He was educated at Leighton Park School in Reading, Berkshire, and went on to study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929. He was President of the Cambridge Union and also of the Cambridge University Liberal Club. His three politically active brothers, Dingle, John and Michael, were all educated at Oxford and all became Presidents of the Oxford Union.

Career

Hugh Foot's career in the diplomatic service was both long and distinguished. In Mandatory Palestine, he served as the assistant district commissioner for the

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

region. During the Second World War he was appointed as British Military Administrator of Cyrenaica, and served as Colonial Secretary of Cyprus from 1943 to 1945. After the War, he served as Colonial Secretary of Jamaica, 1945–47, Chief Secretary for Nigeria, 1947–50 and was appointed to be the Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of Jamaica in 1951, a post he held until 1957. He returned to Cyprus as the last colonial Governor and Commander in Chief in 1957 until 1960, when Cyprus gained independence. In 1961, he became British Ambassador to the United Nations Trusteeship Council. After the Labour Party won the

1964 general election The following elections occurred in 1964. Africa * 1964 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic presidential election * 1964 Dahomeyan general election * 1964 Gabo ...

, Foot became Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representatives from the United Kingdom to the United Nations from 1964 to 1970. During his tenure as Permanent Representative, he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in the

1968 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1968 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

. After his retirement, he became a visiting fellow at Harvard University and Princeton University. In 1964 Foot was granted a life

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Caradon, of St Cleer in the County of Cornwall, the title referring to

Caradon Hill Caradon Hill ( kw, Bre Garn) is on Bodmin Moor in the former Caradon district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit is above mean sea level. Caradon Hill is on the southeastern edge of the moor; it is between the villages of Minions ...

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

, not far from Trematon Castle, which was his country home. He jokingly claimed to be glad to be divested of the surname "Foot", which he considered a standing invitation to wags, as he liked to illustrate by recalling a telegram his father received on his election to parliament: "Foot, congratulations on your feat!" Foot was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Honours and arms

Foot was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

1939 New Year Honours The 1939 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

and elevated 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) in the

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new h ...

. He was elevated Knight Commander of the

(KCMG) in the 1951 New Year Honours and was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) on 27 November 1953. In the 1957 Birthday Honours, he was elevated a Knight Grand Cross of the

(GCMG).

Family

He was one of the four sons of the Liberal Member of Parliament Isaac Foot, his three brothers being the politician Sir Dingle Foot, the life peer Lord Foot, and the journalist and Labour Party leader Michael Foot. "We were proud to be nonconformists and Roundheads", Caradon once wrote of his family: " Oliver Cromwell was our hero and

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

our poet." Foot married Florence Sylvia Tod in 1936. She predeceased him in 1985. They had three sons and a daughter together: * Hon. Paul Mackintosh Foot (8 November 1937 – 18 July 2004), a journalist. * Hon. Sarah Dingle Foot (24 September 1939 – 28 February 2015), also a journalist. * Hon. Oliver Isaac Foot (19 September 1946 – 6 February 2008), a charity worker who led Project Orbis International.Geoffrey Hollan
"Oliver Foot"
(obituary), ''The Guardian'', 12 February 2008. * Hon. Benjamin Arthur Foot (born 19 August 1949) Foot died in Plymouth, aged 82, on 5 September 1990. He was survived by his four children.

References

Works

* Lord Caradon
"The Obligation of Optimism"
''Conspectus of History'' 1.8 (1982): 1–9.

External links

Entry
in '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Caradon, Hugh Foot, Baron 1907 births 1990 deaths Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Presidents of the Cambridge Union Diplomatic peers Labour Party (UK) life peers British Methodists Cornish Methodists Colonial Administrative Service officers Governors of Jamaica Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Leighton Park School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Harvard University faculty Princeton University faculty Governors of British Cyprus 20th-century Methodists British people of the Cyprus Emergency Hugh Colonial Secretaries of Jamaica Chief Secretaries of Nigeria Colonial Secretaries of Cyprus Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Life peers created by Elizabeth II