Sir James Patrick Ivan Hennessy (born 26 September 1923) is a British retired diplomat and served as

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

from 1982 to 1987.

Early years

Educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and then King's College, Durham (now part of

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

), Hennessy joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1942, and was then seconded to the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

from 1944 to 1946.

Career

After

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 ...

, Hennessy joined what was then HM Overseas Service, serving initially in

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), th ...

from 1948 in a number of roles, seconded in 1961 to the Office of the High Commissioner in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

and taking on a number of positions in the government of South Africa. He retired from the Overseas Service in 1968 and was appointed to the Foreign Office, serving as Chargé d'Affaires to Montevideo, Uruguay for 1971–72, and then High Commissioner to Kampala, Uganda and non-resident Ambassador to Kigali, Rwanda, 1973–76. He served as

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

from 1977 to 1980, before ending his career as the last Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British Honduras (now

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

) from 1980 to 1981. In 1982, Hennessy was appointed as the second ever HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, taking over from Bill Pearce,Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons 1982. previously the Chief Inspector of Probation for Inner London whose tenure as HMCIP was cut short by illness. Hennessey served a five-year term until 1987. After stepping down as Chief Inspector to be replaced by Judge Sir Stephen Tumim, Hennessy served on the

Parole Board for England and Wales The Parole Board for England and Wales () was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The ...

until 1991 and as a Trustee of the Butler Trust until 1998.

Honours and recognition

Hennessy was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 1959 New Year Honours, promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 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 '' Lo ...

and to

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours. He was also made a 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

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 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 on 1 January 1975 to celeb ...

References

Positions held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, James Patrick Ivan, Sir British Indian Army personnel Living people 1923 births Members of HM Diplomatic Service British businesspeople Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Bedford School British prison inspectors Governors of British Honduras Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Uruguay High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Uganda Basutoland people British Army personnel of World War II British expatriates in Lesotho Royal Artillery personnel Indian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century British diplomats