Sir John Adam Thomson, (27 April 1927 – 3 June 2018) was a British diplomat who served as High Commissioner to India and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Career

John Thomson was educated at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

, the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He joined the Foreign Service in 1950, and served at

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as well as posts at the Foreign office (later 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) and a secondment to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

. He was

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

and deputy Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council from 1972 to 1973; head of the UK delegation to

Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions The Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR) talks were a series of negotiations held in Vienna between NATO and Warsaw Pact countries between 1973 and 1989. Origins The MBFR talks were first proposed at the SALT meeting between President Rich ...

exploratory talks in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1973; assistant

Under-Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

at the FCO from 1973 to 1976; High Commissioner to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 1977 to 1982; and Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1982 to 1987. Thomson retired from the Foreign Service in 1987 and, among many activities, was Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1987 to 1991, chairman of Minority Rights Group International from 1991 to 1999, and a trustee of the Indian National Trust UK Trust from 1991 to 1999. He was an adviser to the British American Security Information Council and research affiliate within the Science, Technology and Global Security Working Group at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Thomson 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. ...

in the

1972 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1972 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 ...

, knighted as a

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 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, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

, and raised to

Knight Grand Cross 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in the

1985 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to t ...

.Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 June 1985
/ref> Thomson was the son of

Sir George Paget Thomson Sir George Paget Thomson, FRS (; 3 May 189210 September 1975) was a British physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognized for his discovery of the wave properties of the electron by electron diffraction. Education and early life Thomson ...

and the grandson of Sir J. J. Thomson, both winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics. His son is Sir Adam Thomson.

Publications

''Crusader Castles''
(with

Robin Fedden Henry Robin Romilly Fedden, CBE, (1908–1977) was an English writer, diplomat and mountaineer. He was the son of artist Romilly Fedden and novelist Katherine Waldo Douglas. Raised mostly in Chantemesle, France, Fedden went to Cambridge Universi ...

), Murray, 1957.

References

THOMSON, Sir John (Adam)
''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 1927 births 2018 deaths Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to India Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-diplomat-stub