Sir Peter Charles Petrie, 5th Baronet, CMG (7 March 1932 – 28 October 2021) was a British diplomat.

Career

Peter Petrie (whose father was the historian Sir Charles Petrie) was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He served in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

1954–56 before entering the

Foreign 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 obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. Later, he served in the UK Delegation to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

1958–61 and the UK High Commission in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

1961–64 (also

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 ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

in 1963). He was posted to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

1965–67, the UK Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

1969–73 and was Head of Chancery at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

1973–76. He returned to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

as head of the European Integration Department 1976–79 before being appointed Minister in the

embassy 1979–85 and finally British Ambassador to Belgium 1985–89. Petrie succeeded to the family baronetcy on the death of his half-brother in 1988. After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, he was a member of the

Franco-British Council The Franco-British Council is an organisation created on the joint initiative of President Georges Pompidou and Prime Minister Edward Heath in order to promote better understanding between United Kingdom and France and to contribute to the develop ...

1994–2002 (chairman of the British section 1997–2002) and a member of the Council of

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

1997–2002. Petrie was appointed CMG in 1980 and Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

in 2006.

Personal life

On 8 November 1958 Petrie married Liduina Maria Fortunata von Oberndorff (born 1933), daughter of Charles-Alphonse von Oberndorff and a grand-daughter of the German diplomat Alfred von Oberndorff. They had two sons and a daughter, including Charles James (born 1959), later the 6th baronet. Petrie died on 28 October 2021, at the age of 89, and was succeeded by his elder son.

Arms

References

PETRIE, Sir Peter (Charles)
Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011, accessed 25 March 2012
Sir Peter Petrie, Bt, CMG Authorised Biography
– Debrett’s People of Today {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Peter Charles Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 1932 births 2021 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium People associated with City, University of London Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Legion of Honour