Sir Leonard Vincent Appleyard (2 September 1938 – 7 February 2020) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

diplomat.

Education

Born in 1938, Appleyard was educated at The Read School, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

for boys (now co-educational) in the village of Drax in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, followed by

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, from which he gained a degree (with Honours) in

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

. He spoke Mandarin, Russian, Hungarian and French.

Career

Appleyard served at the British Embassy in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

between 1966 and 1968 (during the country's

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

). He served as First Secretary in the British High Commission in

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 1971 to 1974, and later returned to China as ambassador in 1994 until 1997, a period which witnessed the

Taiwan Strait Crisis The Taiwan Strait Crises refers to conflicts involving the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. * The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–1955) * The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis (1958) * The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis The Th ...

(1995–96) and also the 'handover' of Hong Kong from UK rule to the People's Republic of China. Appleyard also served as the UK's ambassador to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, in the Treasury, in the Cabinet Office as Deputy Cabinet Secretary, as Secretary of the Gulf War Cabinet, and as Financial Counsellor in Paris. Following his departure from the diplomatic service, Appleyard took up a position as vice-chairman of

Barclays Capital Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

. Appleyard also served as joint-Chairman on the Nuffield Languages Programme Steering Group along with

Sir Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Career ...

. He was Pro-Chancellor of

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...

. He died on 7 February 2020 at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleyard, Leonard Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People associated with Bournemouth University 1938 births 2020 deaths Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 20th-century British diplomats