Peter Laurence O'Keeffe (9 July 1931 – 2 May 2003) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

during the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

Career

O'Keeffe was educated at St Francis Xavier's College (Liverpool) and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. He joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1953, initially in

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

, but transferred to the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1962 and was posted to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

1962–65; the South East Asia desk at 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 * United ...

1965–68; Head of Chancery at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

1968–72; Commercial Counsellor at

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

1972–75; and head of the Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department, FCO, 1975–76. He was then posted to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as director of the then British Information Services, which was "an extension of the press and public affairs section of the British Embassy in Washington, located in New York because of the city's pre-eminence as a media centre. Its role asto explain developments in British Government policies and society to people and organisations throughout the United States." O'Keefe fought to save the BIS from changes proposed by the ambassador Peter Jay but left New York in 1978; ''The Times'' reported that the dispute with Mr Jay had cost him his post although the Foreign Office claimed that his departure was routine. O'Keefe was then posted as Counsellor to the embassy at

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

1978–81. After a year as Research Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, he was appointed Ambassador to Senegal in July 1982, just after the end of the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, when Dakar airport was a vital staging point for the RAF on their way south to the Falkland Islands. While in Senegal O'Keefe was also concurrently (non-resident) ambassador to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. He returned to London in 1985 for a brief spell as chairman of the Civil Service Selection Board, before going to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

as head of the UK delegation to the

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

1986–88. In 1988 O'Keefe was appointed to his final diplomatic post as ambassador to Czechoslovakia. "O'Keeffe arrived in a country on the brink of change. He was fortunate to have been introduced to most of the leading dissidents, so by the time of the

he knew personally all the main actors in Prague and Bratislava. ... In the wave of Anglophilia that swept over post-revolutionary Czechoslovakia his official car was greeted by cheering crowds who saw him as a symbol of liberty." He retired in 1991. Laurence O'Keefe was appointed CVO in 1974 and CMG in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

of 1983. Under the name of Laurence Halley he wrote two novels and a study of the influence of ethnic groups on foreign policy.

Publications

(as Laurence Halley) *''Simultaneous Equations'', Jonathan Cape, London, 1975. *''Ancient Affections: Ethnic Groups and Foreign Policy'', Praeger, New York, 1985. *''Abiding City'', Bodley Head, London, 1986.

References

O’KEEFFE, (Peter) Laurence
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 27 May 2012

''The Telegraph'', London, 12 June 2003

External links

Interview with Peter Laurence O'Keeffe

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:OKeeffe, Laurence 1931 births 2003 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Georgetown University alumni Civil servants in HM Customs and Excise Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Senegal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mali Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Guinea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mauritania Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Cape Verde Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Czechoslovakia Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British male novelists 20th-century British novelists People educated at St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool