Sir John Alexander Noble Graham, 4th Baronet, (15 July 1926 – 11 December 2019) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Iraq, Iran and NATO.

Career

Graham, born in Calcutta, British India, the only son of Sir Reginald Graham, 3rd Baronet, was at school at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

from 1944 to 1947, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant on 27 July 1945, barely over a month before the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following his military service, he then went with a scholarship to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

1948–50. On leaving Cambridge he joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

and studied at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies before being posted to

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in 1951,

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in 1952 and

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

in 1953. He was Assistant Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

1954–57 and then served at

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

1957–60,

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

1960–61, the Foreign Office 1961–66 and

1966–69. Graham was

Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The principal private secretary to the secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs is the head of the private office of the foreign minister of His Majesty's Government, and is located in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main Bui ...

1969–72, serving Michael Stewart and

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

. He was then posted as Counsellor (later Minister) and Head of Chancery at

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

1972–74; Ambassador to Iraq 1974–77; deputy Under-Secretary at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

(FCO) 1977–79; Ambassador to Iran 1979–80; deputy Under-Secretary again 1980–82; and finally Ambassador and Permanent Representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

1982–86. After retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 1986, Graham was Registrar 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 III ...

1987–2001 and was also Director of the Ditchley Foundation 1987–92. Graham died on 11 December 2019 at the age of 93.

Honours

Graham 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 ...

in the 1972 Birthday Honours, knighted as a

Knight Commander 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 III ...

in the 1979 Birthday Honours on his appointment to Iran, and promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1986 New Year Honours. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, John Alexander Noble 1926 births 2019 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Grenadier Guards officers Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to NATO Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of HM Diplomatic Service Military personnel of British India British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century British diplomats People educated at Sunningdale School