Sir Pierson John Dixon (13 November 190422 April 1965) was a British diplomat and writer. He was known to be a firm believer in the value of diplomacy to solve international issues.

Career

Dixon was the

Principal Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the Foreign Secretary between 1943 and 1948. He held the post of Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1948–1950) and he was invested as Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1950. He later held the offices of Deputy Under-Secretary of State, Foreign Office (1950–1954) and

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative to the United Nations, and in charge of the ''United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations'' (UKMIS). UK permanen ...

(1954–1960). He was involved during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

and Hungarian Uprising in 1956. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1957 and served as the ambassador to France between 1960 and 1964.

Personal life

Family grave of Pierson John Dixon in Highgate Cemetery

Dixon was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. He married Alexandra Ismene Atchley in 1928 in Chelsea; they had a son and two daughters. Their son,

Piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician who represented

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

between 1970 and 1974 and wrote
Double Diploma: The Life of Sir Pierson Dixon
' (1968). Jennifer Nina Flora Mary Dixon married Peter Blaker, Baron Blaker, and Ann Anastasia Corinna Helena Dixon married

James Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell James Leslie Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell (11 February 1938 – 28 September 2006) was a British Conservative Party hereditary peer. Early life Hamilton was the elder son (and second child) of John Hamilton, 3rd Baron Hamilton of Da ...

. His ashes are buried in the Dixon family grave on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Novels

He was an author of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

s, notably writing about

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

and

Pauline Bonaparte Paula Maria Bonaparte Leclerc Borghese ( French: ''Pauline Marie Bonaparte''; 20 October 1780 – 9 June 1825), better known as Pauline Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess, the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, and the princess cons ...

. * ''Farewell, Catullus'' (1953) * ''The Glittering Horn: Secret Memoirs of the Court of Justinian'' (1958) * ''Pauline: Napoleon's Favourite Sister'' (1964)

Career

Personal life

Novels

References

Further reading