Sir Michael Cavenagh Gillett KBE CMG (12 July 1907 – 20 January 1971) was a British diplomat.

Education

Gillett was educated at the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

and Royal Navy College, Dartmouth and then at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Career in China

Gillett was appointed a

student interpreter Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number o ...

in the British China Consular Service in January 1929 and served as Vice-Consul in Canton (now Guangzhou),

Hankow Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

and

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

. He was promoted to the rank of Consul in 1937 and was Acting Consul General in

from June 1938 and Acting Consul at Tengyueh (now Tengchong) from 1940 to 1942. He served as Chinese Secretary to the Legation in Chunking (now Chongqing) in 1942 and then transferred back to Kashgar in that year. He was appointed deputy consul general in Shanghai in 1947 and then

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in 1948 serving to November that year. He served in China until 1953.

Later career

Gillett served as British Consul General in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

between 1954 and 1957 and then as British Ambassador to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from 1957 to 1963. He retired in 1963.

Awards

He was awarded a CMG in 1951 and was knighted in 1962.Biographical note to Gillett's papers, Royal Asiatic Society
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References

External links

*
Royal Asiatic Society catalogue for Gillett's papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillett, Michael Cavenagh 1907 births 1971 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Afghanistan Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne