John Thomson (diplomat)

Sir John Adam Thomson, GCMG (27 April 1927 – 3 June 2018) was a British diplomat who was high commissioner to India and ambassador to the UN.

Career

John Thomson was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, the University of Aberdeen and Trinity College, Cambridge. He joined the Foreign Service in 1950[1] and served at Jeddah, Damascus and Washington, D.C. as well as posts at the Foreign office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO) and a secondment to the Cabinet Office. He was Minister and deputy Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council 1972–73; head of the UK delegation to Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions exploratory talks in Vienna 1973; assistant Under-Secretary at the FCO 1973–76; High Commissioner to India 1977–82; and Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1982–87.

Thomson retired from the Foreign Service in 1987 and among many activities was Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford, 1987–91, chairman of Minority Rights Group International 1991–99 and a trustee of the Indian National Trust UK Trust 1991–99.[2] He is an adviser to the British American Security Information Council and research affiliate within the Science, Technology and Global Security Working Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]

Thomson was appointed CMG in the New Year Honours of 1972,[4] knighted KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1978[5] and raised to GCMG in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1985.[6]

He was the son of Sir George Paget Thomson and the grandson of Sir J. J. Thomson, both winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics;

Publications
  • Crusader Castles (with Robin Fedden), Murray, 1957. ISBN 0719504236
gollark: It's amazing how Trump gets away with doing bad things by just doing worse things later.
gollark: Do we need metamediabiasfactcheck, or Sam Vimes, or something?
gollark: I meant that as a joke, but sure.
gollark: Who mediabiasfactchecks mediabiasfactchecks, though?
gollark: Still, mine is at least above zero.

References
  1. The London Gazette, 1 January 1954
  2. INTACH UK Trust Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Heritage Chambers, 2008
  3. Sir John Thomson, British American Security Information Council
  4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1972
  5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 31 December 1977
  6. Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 June 1985
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir Michael Walker		 High Commissioner to India
1977–1982		 Succeeded by
Sir Robert Wade-Gery
Preceded by
Sir Anthony Parsons		 Permanent Representative to the United Nations
1982–1987		 Succeeded by
Sir Crispin Tickell


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