Sir Richard Ashton Beaumont (29 December 1912 – 23 January 2009) was a British
diplomat and
Arabist who spent most his diplomatic career serving in the Arab world.
Educated at
Repton School
Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England.
Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school whi ...
and
Oriel College, Oxford, Beaumont joined the Consular Service in 1936, and was sent to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
and
Syria. In 1941 he joined the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and served in
Palestine. In 1944 he returned to the
Foreign Office. He served as a counsellor in the British Embassy in
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. I ...
, and was later sent to
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, his only foreign post outside the Arab world.
In 1958 Beaumont attended the
Imperial Defence College
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...
. He then returned to the Foreign Office as head of the Arabian department. He was appointed as ambassador to
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
in 1961, and ambassador to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in 1965. When the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
broke out in 1967, the Iraqi government broke off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, and Beaumont had 48 hours to leave the country. He returned to London, where he was appointed deputy under-secretary of state. He served as ambassador to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
from 1969 to 1973,
and did much to strengthen
Anglo-Egyptian relations. Following his retirement, he headed several organisations dealing with British-Arab relations, such as the
Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) where he served as the Chairman from 1980 to 1996. He was a governor of the
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...
.
References
;General
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*
;Specific
1912 births
2009 deaths
Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq
British Arabists
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Egypt
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Morocco
British Army personnel of World War II
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Repton School
People associated with SOAS University of London
{{UK-diplomat-stub