Richard John McMoran Wilson, 2nd Baron Moran, (22 September 1924 – 14 February 2014), known as John Wilson, was a British diplomat. He was one of the ninety

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

s elected to remain in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

Background and early life

The son of the 1st Baron Moran and Dorothy (née Dufton), he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in history. Wilson served in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

from 1943 to 1945. He was first Ordinary Seaman on

HMS Belfast } HMS ''Belfast'' is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum. Construction of ''Belfast'', the fi ...

, later

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

on Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB 684) and Destroyer HMS Oribi.

Diplomatic career

In 1945, Wilson entered the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

and held various minor offices in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

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 ...

, Washington, D.C. and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. From 1968 to 1973, he was Head of the West African Department of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, and from 1970 to 1973 concurrently non-resident British Ambassador to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. Wilson was British Ambassador to Hungary between 1973 and 1976 and

British Ambassador to Portugal The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Portugal is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Portuguese Republic, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Portugal. For ambassadors from the Court of St James's to Portuga ...

from 1976 to 1981. In 1981, he was appointed High Commissioner to Canada and held this post until 1984. On leaving his post of High Commissioner to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

in 1984, Moran penned a frank final telegram to the British Foreign Secretary in which he was critical of Canadian politicians and public policies. The telegram became public in October 2009 after a BBC columnist,

Matthew Parris Matthew Francis Parris (born 7 August 1949) is a British political writer and broadcaster, formerly a Conservative Member of Parliament. He was born in South Africa to British parents. Early life and family Parris is the eldest of six childre ...

, made a freedom of information request for the foreign office's valedictory despatches.

Other public appointments

From 1990 to 1995, Wilson was chair of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, from 1988 to 1995 vice-chairman of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, and from 1989 to 1994 served as chairman of the National Rivers Authority Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee for the Welsh Region. For

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment th ...

, he was council member from 1992 to 1994, and vice-president from 1996 to 1997. He was president of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust (1994-death) and Chair of the Fisheries Policy and Legislation Working Group ("the Moran Committee"; from 1997 until his death). In 1997 he was appointed chair of the Salmon and Trout Association, remaining until 2000, when he became executive vice-president. Having been president of the

Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association The Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Genweirwyr Eog a Brithyll Cymru) (WSTAA) is the governing body for game angling in Wales. It has about one hundred member clubs. Founded as the Welsh Fly Fishing Association () in 195 ...

from 1988 to 1995, he was renamed as president in 2000.

Writings

In 1973, Wilson wrote a biography about

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

, for which he received the Whitbread Award for Biography. Having been made 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 honour ...

in 1970, he was raised to a Knight Commander in 1981. In 1978, he received also the Grand Cross of the Portuguese

Order of Infante D. Henrique The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

Family

In 1948 he married Shirley Rowntree Harris; the couple had two sons and a daughter. He died in February 2014 aged 89.

Works

*''C.B. – A Life of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman'' (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, John Wilson, 2nd Baron 1924 births 2014 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada Royal Navy officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Diplomatic peers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Chad Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Costa Book Award winners Royal Naval Reserve personnel