Sir Michael Romily Heald Jenkins, (9 January 1936 – 31 March 2013) was a British diplomat. Born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and son of the Byzantine scholar,

Romilly Jenkins Romilly James Heald Jenkins (1907 – 30 September 1969) was a British scholar in Byzantine and Modern Greek studies. He occupied the prestigious seat of ''Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature'' at King's ...

, he was trained as a Russian interpreter during his National Service. He subsequently studied languages and history as an Exhibitioner at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

(1956–59), from where he graduated and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1959. Following senior postings in Europe, including ten years at the European Commission, he became Minister at the

British Embassy in Washington The British Embassy, Washington D.C. (alternatively in the US, Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C.) is the British sovereign's diplomatic mission to the United States of America, representing the interests of the United Kingdom and ...

, and in 1988 Ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He retired from 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 ...

in 1993 after which he joined the Board of

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

as an executive director, becoming Vice-Chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in 1996. For five years he was a non-executive director of Aegon, the Dutch-based insurance company. In 2003 he was appointed President of

Boeing UK Boeing UK (; legally Boeing United Kingdom Limited) is a subsidiary of Boeing that operates in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The managing director of Boeing UK & Ireland is Martin Donnelly (civil servant), Sir Martin Donnelly, a ...

. In 2007 he joined the Board of Geopark, the Aim listed oil and gas company, as a non-executive Director; and in March 2008, Sir Michael became Chairman of Matra Petroleum plc. Sir Michael held several senior positions at the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) and was Chairman of the Club from 2000–2001. He was also a Commissioner at the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

. While serving a tour of duty in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, he researched a biography of

Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (russian: граф Алексе́й Андре́евич Аракче́ев) ( – ) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul I ...

which was published in 1969, and towards the end of his diplomatic career he wrote a memoir of his youth, ''A House in Flanders''. He also edited a memoir by his aunt, the writer Elizabeth Jenkins, which was published in 2005, her 100th year. Jenkins was made 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 1989 for his diplomatic services.Air & Business Travel News
- Website Lennuamet

Books

*''Arakcheev: Grand Vizier of the Russian Empire'' (Faber and Faber, and The Dial Press, 1969) *''A House in Flanders'' (Souvenir Press 1992, Meulenhoff 1992, Minerva 1993, Viking 1993, Clausen 1994 & La Table Ronde 1996) *''The View from Downshire Hill'' (Editor) (Michael Russell 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Michael 1936 births 2013 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands