Sir Michael Aidan Pakenham (born 3 November 1943) is a British retired diplomat.

Background and education

Pakenham is the third son of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician

Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

, and Elizabeth Harman. He is the brother of Thomas Pakenham,

Lady Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and p ...

and

Lady Rachel Billington Lady Rachel Mary Billington (''née'' Pakenham; born 11 May 1942) is a British author, the third daughter of the 7th Earl and Countess of Longford; both parents were writers, as was her aunt, Christine Longford. Career Billington worked in ...

. He was educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

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 ...

, and was an exchange fellow at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Career

Pakenham was briefly a reporter for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' before joining 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 1965. He served in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

before being seconded 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 ...

1971–74 as Assistant Private Secretary, then Private Secretary, to the

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

(

Geoffrey Rippon Aubrey Geoffrey Frederick Rippon, Baron Rippon of Hexham, PC, QC (28 May 1924 – 28 January 1997) was a British Conservative Party politician. He is most known for drafting the European Communities Act 1972 which took the United Kingdom into ...

then John Davies), who at that time had special responsibilities for the co-ordination of British policy towards 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 ...

. In 1974 Pakenham was at the

CSCE CSCE may refer to * China State Construction Engineering * Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange which merged to form the New York Board of Trade * Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe * Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe whic ...

in Geneva, then was posted to New Delhi 1974–78 and Washington, D.C. 1978–1983. He was Head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department 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 ...

1983–87; Counsellor (External Relations) to the UK

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, Brussels, 1987–91; Ambassador and Consul-General to Luxembourg 1991–94; and Minister in Paris 1994–97. Pakenham was then seconded to the Cabinet Office again as Deputy Secretary for Defence and Overseas Affairs 1997–99, then Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee 1997–2000 (also Intelligence Co-ordinator 1999–2000). Finally he was posted to

as Ambassador to Poland 2001–03. Pakenham 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. ...

(CMG) in 1993 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

in 2003. He was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1992. Since retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Pakenham has been chairman of Pakenvest International; senior adviser to

Access Industries Access Industries, Inc. is an American privately held multinational industrial group. It was founded in 1986 by businessman Leonard "Len" Blavatnik, who is also its chairman. Access's industrial focus is in four areas: natural resources and c ...

; non-executive director of the

Westminster Group The Westminster Group plc is a worldwide security company that specialises in Fire, Safety, Security and Defence. The firms' headquarters are at Westminster House, Blacklocks Hill, Overthorpe, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The gr ...

; a trustee of

Chevening House Chevening House () is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, in Southeast England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surrou ...

; and a lay member of the governing Council of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

(and its vice-chairman since 2009).

Personal life

Pakenham married Mimi Lavine (born Meta Doak) in 1980; they have two daughters. He also has two step-daughters, Dr Lisa Nagy of Martha's Vineyard and Lindsay Lavine Webster of Spartanburg South Carolina with 4 children Lily, Will, Liza, and Vinnie.

References

The Hon Sir Michael Pakenham, KBE, CMG
Authorised Biography – Debrett's People of Today
PAKENHAM, Hon. Sir Michael (Aidan)
Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011
The Hon Sir Michael Pakenham
King's College, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakenham, Michael 1943 births Living people People educated at Ampleforth College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Rice University fellows The Washington Post journalists Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Poland Fellows of King's College London People associated with King's College London Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Younger sons of earls

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Sons of life peers 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats