Sir Peter Charles Petrie, 5th Baronet, CMG (7 March 1932 – 28 October 2021) was a British diplomat.

Career

Peter Petrie (whose father was the historian Sir Charles Petrie) was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

1954–56 before entering 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 ...

. Later, he served in the UK Delegation to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

1958–61 and the UK High Commission in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

1961–64 (also

Chargé d'Affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

in 1963). He was posted to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

1965–67, the UK Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

1969–73 and was Head of Chancery at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

1973–76. He returned to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

as head of the European Integration Department 1976–79 before being appointed Minister in the

embassy 1979–85 and finally British Ambassador to Belgium 1985–89. Petrie succeeded to the family baronetcy on the death of his half-brother in 1988. After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, he was a member of the

Franco-British Council The Franco-British Council is an organisation created on the joint initiative of President Georges Pompidou and Prime Minister Edward Heath in order to promote better understanding between United Kingdom and France and to contribute to the devel ...

1994–2002 (chairman of the British section 1997–2002) and a member of the Council of

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

1997–2002. Petrie was appointed CMG in 1980 and Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 2006.

Personal life

On 8 November 1958 Petrie married Liduina Maria Fortunata von Oberndorff (born 1933), daughter of Charles-Alphonse von Oberndorff and a grand-daughter of the German diplomat Alfred von Oberndorff. They had two sons and a daughter, including Charles James (born 1959), later the 6th baronet. Petrie died on 28 October 2021, at the age of 89, and was succeeded by his elder son.

Arms

References

PETRIE, Sir Peter (Charles)
Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011, accessed 25 March 2012
Sir Peter Petrie, Bt, CMG Authorised Biography
– Debrett’s People of Today {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Peter Charles Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 1932 births 2021 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium People associated with City, University of London Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Legion of Honour