Sir Mervyn Brown (born 24 September 1923) is a British retired ambassador and historian of Madagascar.

Career

Brown was educated at Murton, where his parents lived, then Ryhope Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford. He served with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

1942–45 and joined 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 o ...

in 1949. After serving at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and at the UK mission to the United Nations in New York, in 1960 he was appointed consul in

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

, Laos, and deputy to the ambassador ( John Addis). He later wrote a memoir of his experience of the Laotian Civil War, including a month spent as a prisoner of the Pathet Lao. Brown was Ambassador to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

1967–70, High Commissioner to Tanzania and concurrently Ambassador to Madagascar (this time non-resident) 1975–78, and High Commissioner to Nigeria and concurrently Ambassador to Benin 1979–83. Brown was appointed OBE in the 1963

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, and in the 1975 New Year Honours. He was knighted KCMG in the 1981 New Year Honours. He is an ''Officier'' of the ''Ordre National'' of Madagascar. He is a patron of the charity Money for Madagascar.Our Patrons
, Money for Madagascar

Publications

''Madagascar Rediscovered: A History from Early Times to Independence''
1978.
''A History of Madagascar''
1995.
''War in Shangri-La: A Memoir of Civil War in Laos''
2001.

References

BROWN, Sir Mervyn
''Who's Who 2016'', A & C Black, 2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2015)

External links

Interview with Sir Mervyn Brown

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Mervyn 1923 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Madagascar High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Tanzania High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Benin Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire British male writers 20th-century British historians British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Argentina British expatriates in Laos British people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Laos