Sir Patrick Francis Hancock (25 June 1914 – 1 February 1980) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Israel, Norway and Italy.

Career

Patrick Francis Hancock was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

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 ...

. He 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 ...

in 1937 and was appointed Third Secretary 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 ...

. On 10 January 1940, he was transferred to the British embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, but was recalled on 14 May following the German invasion of 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 ...

. Upon Hancock's return to London, he was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Warfare as Private Secretary to the Minister,

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreign policy in the 1 ...

. According to John Colville's diaries, Hancock found Dalton 'brilliant but unlovable'. He returned to the Foreign Office on 12 January 1942 and was promoted to Second Secretary in October of the same year. On 28 May 1943 Hancock was transferred to the

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

embassy and remained there until 16 July 1945, when he was recalled to London. In November 1948 Hancock was sent to the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

embassy and became ''chargé d'affaires'' there in 1949. He was recalled to the Foreign Office on 9 July 1951, and on 16 May 1953 was made Head of the Central Department. He was appointed private secretary to the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

on 1 September 1955, and remained in this post until 15 October 1956, when he was appointed Head of the Western Department. Hancock was

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Israel 1959–62, and then to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

1963–65. In 1965 he was transferred back to London and promoted to Assistant Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, and then promoted again in 1968 to Deputy Under-Secretary. Following this, Hancock was sent to Rome and served as ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

1969–74.

Later and private life

Hancock retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1974 and was secretary of the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is a national grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law. It was founded in 1930 with a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. T ...

from 1975 until his death.Sir Henry Fisher
Sir Patrick Hancock
''The Times'', London, 20 February 1980, page 17 Hancock married Beatrice Mangeot (née Huckell) in 1947. They had one son and one daughter.

Honours

Hancock was appointed CMG in 1956, knighted KCMG in 1969 and raised to GCMG in 1974 on his retirement.Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 June 1974
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References

Notes

HANCOCK, Sir Patrick
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Sir Patrick Hancock
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 2 February 1980, page 14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Patrick Francis 1914 births 1980 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Israel Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Norway Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George