Robert Maurice Alers Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, (4 July 1905 – 28 October 1996) was a British diplomat and public servant.

Background and education

Born on 4 July 1905, Hankey was the eldest son of

Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, (1 April 1877 – 26 January 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ...

, and Adeline, daughter of Abraham de Smidt, of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

Diplomatic career

Hankey was appointed to be a Third Secretary in 1928, a Second Secretary in 1932, and a First Secretary in 1939. He then served as the Envoy to Hungary from 1951 to 1953 and the Ambassador to Sweden between 1954 and 1960. Hankey was a delegate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (renamed the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) in 1961) between 1960 and 1965. He succeeded his father in the barony in 1963 and became a very active member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, speaking 552 times between 1965 and his last speech in December 1991 at the age of 86. Hankey was also involved in business and served as a director of the Alliance Building Society from 1970 to 1983. He was president of the

Anglo-Swedish Society Founded in the aftermath of the First World War, the Anglo-Swedish Society was established to foster greater understanding and friendship between Britain and Sweden. The continued strong bond between these two nations has allowed the Society to ...

around 1970.

Family

Lord Hankey was twice married. He married firstly Frances Bevyl, daughter of Walter Erskine Stuart-Menteth, in 1930. They had two sons and two daughters. After her death in 1957 he married secondly Joanna, daughter of Reverend James Johnstone Wright, in 1962. Lord Hankey died in October 1996, aged 91, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Donald. He was also father of Adele Änggård.

Honours

Hankey was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

as a Companion in the 1947 New Year Honours and promoted to a Knight Commander of the same Order in 1955. Sir Robert was appointed to the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

as a Knight Commander in 1956, as well as being awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star of Sweden.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankey, Robert, 2nd Baron 1905 births 1996 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of New College, Oxford 2 Diplomatic peers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the OECD