Sir Malcolm Arnold Robertson (2 September 1877 – 23 April 1951) was a British diplomat and politician. He was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary in Argentina in 1925, and became Ambassador to Argentina from 1927 to 1929.

Biography

Robertson entered the Civil Service after passing competitive examinations in December 1898, being appointed a clerk on the establishment of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service on 3 January 1899. He rose steadily through the ranks, being appointed Acting Third Secretary on 1 January 1903, Second Secretary on 23 November 1905, and First Secretary on 23 November 1912. Robertson served as

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and on 3 June 1915 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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

. In 1917 he was first secretary of the

British Embassy in Washington, D.C. The British Embassy, Washington D.C. (alternatively in the US, Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C.) is the Charles III, British sovereign's diplomatic mission to the United States of America, representing the interests of the United ...

, where in March his engagement to Gladys Ingalls, daughter of railroad magnate

Melville E. Ingalls Melville Ezra Ingalls (1842–1914), commonly abbreviated M. E. Ingalls, was a Massachusetts state legislator who went on to become president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (the Big Four Railroad). Career Ingalls was ...

, was announced. Their only child, Donald Struan Robertson, served in the Scots Guards, rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. On 15 September 1919 Robertson was appointed a

Counsellor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service, and on 1 December 1921 he was appointed Agent and Consul-General at Tangier, where he took a leading part in negotiating the

Tangier Protocol The Tangier Protocol (formally the Convention regarding the Organisation of the Statute of the Tangier Zone) was an agreement signed between France, Spain, and the United Kingdom by which the city of Tangier in Morocco became the Tangier Internat ...

. On 3 June 1924 Robertson, now Minister at Tangier, was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. On 18 September 1925 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic, and also Minister Plenipotentiary to the

Republic of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. On 26 May 1927 he became a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and on 9 July 1927 was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic. After retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 1930, he became Chairman of

Spillers Spillers Ltd was a British company that owned flour milling operations, operated bakeries and also sold pet food and equine feeds. History The business originated in 1829 from the establishment of a flour mill in Bridgwater, Somerset, by Joel Sp ...

from 1930 to 1947. He was elected as Conservative MP for Mitcham in the by-election of August 1940, but lost his seat in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

. Robertson also served as Chairman of the British Council from 1941 to 1945. In that capacity, in 1942 Robertson and

R. A. Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary c ...

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

, invited the ministers of education of the Allied countries to form a Conference of Allied Ministers of Education, which after the war was expanded and became the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

References

External links

The personal papers of Sir Malcolm Robertson
an
Robertson's day files while Chairman of the British Council
are held at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Michael 1877 births 1951 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Argentina Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1935–1945 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Foreign Office personnel of World War II People of the British Council