Robert Maurice Alers Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, (4 July 1905 – 28 October 1996) was a British diplomat and public servant.

Background and education

Hankey was the eldest son of

Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, (1 April 1877 – 26 January 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ...

, and Adeline, daughter of Abraham de Smidt, of

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 ...

. He was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

Diplomatic career

Hankey was appointed to be a Third Secretary in 1928, a Second Secretary in 1932, and a First Secretary in 1939. He then served as the Envoy to Hungary from 1951 to 1953 and the Ambassador to Sweden between 1954 and 1960. Hankey was a delegate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (renamed the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

(OECD) in 1961) between 1960 and 1965. He succeeded his father in the barony in 1963 and became a very active member of 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 ...

, speaking 552 times between 1965 and his last speech in December 1991 at the age of 86. Hankey was also involved in business and served as a director of the Alliance Building Society from 1970 to 1983. He was president of the Anglo-Swedish Society around 1970.

Family

Lord Hankey was twice married. He married firstly Frances Bevyl, daughter of Walter Erskine Stuart-Menteth, in 1930. They had two sons and two daughters. After her death in 1957 he married secondly Joanna, daughter of Reverend James Johnstone Wright, in 1962. Lord Hankey died in October 1996, aged 91, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Donald. He was also father of

Adele Änggård Adele Änggård (born Adele Hankey, 31 July 1933) is a British-Swedish stage and costume designer whose career has spanned some of the most significant major stages across Europe and Scandinavia. In parallel she's actively pursued archeology and ...

Honours

Hankey was appointed to 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 ...

as a Companion in the

1947 New Year Honours The 1947 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

and promoted to a Knight Commander of the same Order in 1955. Sir Robert was appointed to the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

as a Knight Commander in 1956, as well as being awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star of Sweden.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankey, Robert, 2nd Baron 1905 births 1996 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of New College, Oxford 2 Diplomatic peers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the OECD