Stanley Frederick St Clair Duncan (born 13 November 1927) was a British
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
in the second half of the Twentieth century.
[‘DUNCAN, Stanley Frederick St Clair’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, Nov 201]
accessed 25 March 2015
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Education
He was educated at Latymer Upper School
(Slowly Therefore Surely)
, established =
, closed =
, sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, head_label = H ...
.
Distance Learning
After his retirement he completed a BA(hons) degree with the Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
.
Career
He joined the India Office
The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...
in 1946 which became part of the Commonwealth Relations Office
The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commo ...
a year later following India's independence. He was Second Secretary
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...
in Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
then Toronto as British Government Information Officer from 1955 to 1957 where he had to cope with a hostile Canadian media at the time of the Suez crisis. He then was Second Secretary in Wellington, New Zealand until 1960. He was First Secretary at the CRO, and was seconded to the Central African Office, a unit set up by the Prime Minister, Mr Harold Macmillan, under Mr R.A. Butler, then Home Secretary, to sort out a growing crisis in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and when it could no longer be held together was a member of the British delegation at the Victoria Falls Conferenceto arrange for its orderly dissolution.
He was responsible for Southern Rhodesia in the Central African Office and in 1962 helped to pilot the legislation for a new Southern Rhodesian constitution through Parliament.The Southern Rhodesian electorate rejected the constitution and called for independence. He supported Mr Butler in talks with the Southern Rhodesian delegation at Victoria Falls about the conditions under which their demands might be met and at further talks with them in London. In the light of non-agreement he was involved in preparation for the possibility of a unilateral declaration of independence by the Rhodesians. When fighting broke out between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots in December 1963 he was selected to go to Cyprus but was held back in London because of continuing tensions in relations with Southern Rhodesia. He finally reached Cyprus in September 1964 as First Secretary where he remained until 1967. He returned to London to participate in the process of amalgamating the Information departments in the newly formed Foreign and Commonwealth Relations Office and was also Adviser to the British group at the Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
from 1968 to 1970. Head of Chancery
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
from 1970 to 1973. He was Consul-General
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
in Mozambique at the time of the rebellion by the Portuguese army in 1964 and remained to open diplomatic relations with the FRELIMO-led independence government in July 1975. He was selected to be Ambassador but the Mozambique government preferred an appointee who had not been accredited to the Portuguese government. He opened the new embassy as Chargé d'affaires until his replacement arrived. He was Counsellor (Political) at Brasilia from 1976 to 1977; Head of the Consular Department at 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 ...
from 1977 to 1980; seconded to the Canadian National Defence College from 1980 to 1981; Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
in 1981. The Falklands war with Argentina caused him successfully to advise the military government not to involve Bolivia in the conflict and was able subsequently to witness the return to democratic government there. He left Bolivia in 1985 and went finally, as High Commissioner to Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
where he presided over the resolution of the seven-year long dispute with the Maltese government about the clearance of bombs and wrecks from the Grand Harbour of Valletta left over from the 1939-1945 war.
Royal Navy ships had been denied visiting Malta during the dispute but the good relations which he was able to reestablish allowed their return to much acclaim. He retired in November 1987.
Honours
He was awarded the Portuguese Order of Christ in 1973 and C.M.G. in 1983.
References
1.Daily Telegraph, London Day by Day "Overdue Assessment" 31 August 1972.
2.Daily Telegraph, London Day by Day "Hot Potato" 19 June 1973.
3.The Times, "Malta Greets the Navy with cheers and tears" 16 August 1986, pg 1, issue 62537.
4.Financial Times, "Sea Change" 18 November 1987.
5.The United Kingdom and the Independence of Portuguese Africa(1974–76). Vol.18 No.2. 2005,
Pedro Aires Oliviera, Faculty of Social & Human Sciences, New University, Lisbon.
6."Counter Coup in Lourenco Marques" A.D. Harvey, International Journal of Historical African Studis, Vol.19, No.3 2006.
7.The Times Letters "Falklands Fallout" 3 April 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Stanley
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bolivia
High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malta
Recipients of the Order of Christ (Portugal)
Alumni of the Open University
People educated at Latymer Upper School
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
1927 births
Living people
Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office