Sir Michael Anthony Arthur (born 28 August 1950), a senior British diplomat, was Her Majesty's British Ambassador to Germany, 2007–10. Previously, he served as the UK's High Commissioner in New Delhi. Arthur was succeeded as British Ambassador to Germany by Sir Simon McDonald (''later'' Baron McDonald of Salford).

Career

Arthur had previously worked in a number of positions within the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

, starting out in 1972 in the

UK Mission to the United Nations The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and moving in 1973 to the UK's Mission in Geneva working on the additional protocols to the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...

. Between 1981 and 1984, he was

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

and Minister of State in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, and in 1984 became First Secretary Political at the British Embassy in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

(then the administrative capital of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

). He was a Political Counselor at the Embassy in Paris from 1993 to 1997 and Deputy Head of Mission in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, he was appointed Director General Europe and Economic at the

and in 2003 succeeded Sir Rob Young as High Commissioner in New Delhi. He became Ambassador to Germany in 2007, succeeding Sir Peter Torry. Arthur retired from

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 October 2010, being succeeded in Berlin by Sir Simon McDonald, a former British Ambassador to Israel and Head of Foreign and Defence Policy,

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 ...

. In 2013 Arthur joined

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

UK and Ireland as a managing director, then appointed senior vice president of Boeing and president of Boeing International from 22 April 2019.

Personal life

In remainder to the Arthur baronetcy,www.burkespeerage.com
/ref> he was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

before going up to

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, becoming a fluent French and German speaker. He is married to Plaxy Gillian Beatrice, and has four children.

References

External links

Website of the British Embassy in Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Michael Anthony 1950 births Living people People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century British diplomats

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links