Humphrey Trevelyan, Baron Trevelyan, (27 November 1905 – 9 February 1985) was a British colonial administrator, diplomat and writer. Having begun his career in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

and Indian Political Service, he transferred to

HM Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

upon Indian independence in 1947, and had a distinguished career during which he held several important ambassadorships.

Biography

Trevelyan was born at the parsonage,

Hindhead Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scienti ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the younger son of the Reverend George Trevelyan, great-grandson of the Venerable George Trevelyan,

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, third son of

Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet (6 February 1735 – 18 April 1828), of Nettlecombe Court in Somerset, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1777 to 1796. Origins A member of an ancient family of Cornwall, he was the onl ...

. His elder brother John Trevelyan was the Secretary of the Board of the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

. The historian

George Macaulay Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was a British historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to the ...

was a second cousin. He was educated at Lancing and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he read Classics. After Cambridge, Trevelyan joined the

in 1929, transferring to the Indian Political Service in 1932. He served in India until independence in 1947, then transferred to

. He held many key diplomatic posts, including '' chargé d'affaires'' in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

after the Revolution, ambassador 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 ...

at the time of

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

, a development with which he was clearly uncomfortable, 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 ...

at the time of the 1961

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

crisis, Iraq's first attempt to annex Kuwait, and ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. On his retirement in 1965, he was offered the post of Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, which he declined in order that a younger man should be appointed. He completed forty years of public service as the last high commissioner of

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

, having been coaxed out of retirement by Foreign Secretary

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

, where he wound up British protection and oversaw the British withdrawal from what had been the

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...

and became South Yemen. Trevelyan wrote a number of books about his career, including ''The India We Left'' and ''The Middle East in Revolution''. On 12 February 1968, he was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Trevelyan, of Saint Veep in the County of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Trevelyan married Violet Margaret (Peggy) Bartholomew, only daughter of General Sir William Henry Bartholomew, in 1937; they had two daughters.

Arms

References

, - , - , - 1905 births 1985 deaths People educated at Lancing College Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Egypt Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Life peers Diplomatic peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II British colonial governors and administrators in Asia Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Soviet Union People of the Aden Emergency Colony of Aden people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq Indian Political Service officers {{Life-peer-stub

Biography

Arms

See also

References