Sir (William) Roger Tomkys , (born 15 March 1937) is a retired British diplomat, and former Master of Pembroke College, at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. He was educated at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...

and graduated from Balliol College, Oxford in 1960. Tomkys learned Arabic at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies in Lebanon, and immediately began his diplomatic career with a posting in Amman,

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, where he served from 1962 to 1964. He served as British Ambassador to

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

(1981–1984), and Syria (1984–1986), and as High Commissioner in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

from 1990 to 1992. Tomkys served as Master of Pembroke College from 1992 to 2004; at Cambridge he also served as Chairman of the Centre of International Studies, as well as the Centre for Middle East and Islamic Studies. He also chaired the Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) from 2004 to 2010. Tomkys was knighted by the Queen in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomkys, Roger 1937 births Living people People educated at Bradford Grammar School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bahrain Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Syria High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Kenya Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George