The Hon. Sir Patrick Ramsay (20 September 1879 – 19 June 1962) was a British diplomat who was minister to Greece, Hungary and Denmark.

Early life

The Honourable Patrick William Maule Ramsay was born on 20 September 1879. He was the second son of

John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in William ...

and the former Lady Ida Louisa Bennet. Among his siblings was older brother Arthur Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie (who married Lady Mary Heathcote-Drummond, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Ancaster), and younger brothers Sir Alexander Ramsay (who married

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, she re ...

, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria), Charles Ramsay, and Lt. Ronald Ramsay. His paternal grandparents were Admiral

George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie Admiral George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie (26 April 1806 – 20 July 1880), known as George Ramsay until 1874, was a British naval officer. Career Ramsay was the son of Lieutenant-General the Honourable John Ramsay (1775–1842), fourth so ...

, and the former Sarah Frances Robertson. His maternal grandparents were

Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville Charles Augustus Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville PC (10 January 1810 – 18 December 1899), styled Lord Ossulston between 1822 and 1859, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-a ...

and

Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville (18 July 1830 – 15 February 1922), formerly Lady Olivia Montagu, was the wife of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville. Olivia was the eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester, and h ...

(eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester). He 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

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

Career

He entered the Diplomatic Service as an attaché in 1904 and served in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, Peking,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

before being posted to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1919. While at Stockholm he was promoted to Counsellor of Embassy and acted as ''

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

'' several times during the absence of the minister, Sir Colville Barclay. Ramsay was moved to a similar post at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1925 and to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1927. He served as

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from 1929 to 1933, Minister and Consul General in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

from 1933 to 1935, and Minister in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1935 to 1939. Upon his retirement in 1939, he was succeeded as Minister in Denmark by Charles Howard Smith, the Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

Personal life

On 15 October 1917, Ramsay was married to Dorothy Cynthia (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Surtees) Tower (1890–1957). Dorothy, the widow of Christopher Cecil Tower of

Weald Hall Weald Country Park is a 700-year-old, 500 acre (2 km²) country park in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London. Weald manor, parts of which dated to the 16t ...

, was a daughter of Brig. Gen. Sir Herbert Conyers Surtees of Mainsforth Hall. They were the parents of:Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. * David Patrick Maule Ramsay (1919–1978), who married Hélène Arvanitidi, a daughter of Leonidas Arvanitidi, in 1948. * James Surtees Maule Ramsay (1923–1944), a Lt. in the Scots Guards who died in

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 ...

at the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Lady Ramsay died on 5 October 1957. Sir Patrick died on 19 June 1962 at Estoril,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Honours

Patrick Ramsay was appointed CMG in 1929 and knighted KCMG in the King's Birthday Honours of 1932. He retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1939 and lived in Portugal until his death, when he was buried in the

British Cemetery, Lisbon The British Cemetery (''Cemitério dos Ingleses'') in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon was established in the early 18th century. It is located in the Estrela district of the city and surrounds the Anglican St George's Church. The first marked ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and until a short time before his death he held an honorary post in the British Embassy in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

.RAMSAY, Hon. Sir Patrick William Maule
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Dec 2007, accessed 29 May 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Patrick William Maule 1879 births 1962 deaths Younger sons of earls People educated at Winchester College Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Burials at the British Cemetery, Lisbon