Robin William Renwick, Baron Renwick of Clifton, (13 December 1937 – 4 November 2024) was a British diplomat, author and a 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 ...

who served as British ambassador to

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 ...

(1987−1991) and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(1991−1995).

Early life and education

Born in

Clifton, York Clifton is a suburb of York in the unitary authority area of the City of York, in North Yorkshire, England about miles from the city centre. The A19 road, A19, passes north out of York through Clifton. The old village area was made a Conserva ...

, to Richard Renwick, a pharmacist, and Clarice Henderson, he won a scholarship to St Paul's School in London. After completing his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

as a despatch rider in Malta and Libya, he studied at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

(which made him an honorary fellow in 1992) and later at the Sorbonne in France.

Career

Renwick joined 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 * United ...

in 1962 and was posted to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, New Delhi and Paris, as well as serving as private secretary to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Godber (1970−1972), and in the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

. In 1978 he joined the Foreign and Commomwealth Office's

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

department, where he helped organise the conferences that led to the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...

, and in 1980 was a political adviser to

Christopher Soames Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parli ...

, the last colonial

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The governor was appointed by the Crown and acted as the local ...

. After a brief

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in the United States, Renwick worked in the British embassy in Washington before returning to London in 1984 as assistant under-secretary for Europe at the time of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's negotiation of the British rebate in the budget of the European Economic Community. He later served as the British ambassador to

(1987−1991) during

negotiations to end apartheid The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

and to the

(1991−1995). Having retired from the diplomatic service, Renwick advised

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

on foreign policy. He entered private business, serving on the boards of various companies, including Robert Fleming & Co.,

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

and J.P. Morgan & Co.

Personal life and death

Renwick was married twice: first, in 1965, to Anne-Collette Guidicelli, whom he had met at the Sorbonne and with whom he had a daughter and a son; and second to Ann Bracken, with whom he had another son. Lord Renwick died from complications of lung disease, on 4 November 2024, at the age of 86.

Honours

Renwick was appointed a

Companion of 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 I ...

(CMG) in the 1980 New Year Honours and was promoted to

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

(KCMG) in the

1989 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1989 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. He was given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Renwick of Clifton, of Chelsea in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, on 26 September 1997. He initially sat as a Labour peer but became a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

in 2007. He retired from the

in 2018.

Bibliography

Renwick was the author of several books: *
A True Statesman: George H. W. Bush and the 'Indispensable Nation'
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2023) *
Not Quite A Diplomat: A Memoir
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2019) *
How to Steal a Country: State Capture and Hopes for the Future in South Africa
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2018) *
Fighting With Allies: America and Britain in Peace and War
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2016) *
The End of Apartheid Diary of a Revolution
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2015) * '
Helen Suzman Bright Star In A Dark Chamber
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2014) *
A Journey with Margaret Thatcher
' (London: Biteback Publishing, 2013)

References

External links

Interview with Robin William, Lord Renwick
an
transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme,

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Renwick of Clifton, Robin Renwick 1937 births 2024 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London University of Paris alumni Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Crossbench life peers Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Diplomatic peers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Ambassadors and high commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa JPMorgan Chase people Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Place of death missing