Sir Con Douglas Walter O'Neill (3 June 1912 – 11 January 1988) was a British civil servant and diplomat. He was the British Ambassador to China (1955–1957) and the British Ambassador to Finland (1961–1963). He was also the British representative to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

from 1963 to 1965 and led the British delegation which negotiated the country's entry to the EEC. O'Neill was the second son of an Ulster Unionist MP,

Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan Robert William Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan, (8 June 1883 – 28 November 1982), known as Sir Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baronet, from 1929 to 1953, was an Ulster Unionist member of both the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Parliament of N ...

. He studied first at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, then at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He gained a fellowship at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, in 1935 before joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936. In 1939, with the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he entered the Army Intelligence Corps. He joined the German Section of the Political Warfare Executive, during which time he interrogated

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's former deputy,

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...

. He left the army for 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 ...

in 1943. During 1946 and 1947 he was a leader writer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. He re-entered the foreign service in 1948. O'Neill died on 11 January 1988. His daughter Onora is now Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve.

References

1912 births 1988 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Finland Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the European Union Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Eton College Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Intelligence Corps officers Younger sons of barons Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-diplomat-stub