Sir John Alan Shepherd, (born 1943) is a retired British diplomat. Born in 1943, Shepherd studied at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

."Shepherd, Sir John (Alan)"
''

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'' (online ed.,

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, December 2018). Retrieved 5 July 2019. After four years in the merchant navy, he entered

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 ...

in 1965. He was First Secretary at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

(FCO) from 1973 to 1976, at the British Embassy in the

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from 1977 to 1980 and then in the office of the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...

from 1980 to 1982 (where he was also Counsellor from 1982 to 1984). After three years as Head of the European Communities Department at the FCO, he was appointed the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Bahrain (serving from 1988 to 1991). In the

1989 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

, he was appointed 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. ...

. After Shepherd's posting in Bahrain, he was Minister at the British Embassy in

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until 1996. After a year as Director, Middle East and North Africa at the FCO, he served as Deputy Under-Secretary from 1997 to 2000, after which he was the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Italy until 2003. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in October 2000, when Elizabeth II visited Italy."Queen begins Italian visit"
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'', 16 October 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2019. After leaving the Service, Shepherd was Secretary-General of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

until 2006 and remains a director as of 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, John Living people 1943 births British diplomats Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Stanford University alumni Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George