William Ehrman

Sir William Geoffrey Ehrman KCMG (born 28 August 1950) is a British civil servant and former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.[1][2]

Sir William Ehrman KCMG
British Ambassador to China
In office 15 March 2006 – January 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
President	Hu Jintao
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Sir Christopher Hum
Succeeded by	Sebastian Wood
British Ambassador to Luxembourg
In office 1998–2000
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Nick Elam
Succeeded by	Gordon Wetherell
Personal details
Born	(1950-08-28) 28 August 1950
Spouse(s)	Penelope Ann LePatourel
Children	4
Parents	John Patrick William Ehrman (father) Susan Blake (mother)
Alma mater	Eton College Trinity College, Cambridge

Early life

Ehrman was born on 28 August 1950 to the historian John Patrick William Ehrman and Susan Blake. He was educated at Eton College, a boarding independent school for boys in Eton in Berkshire, followed by Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he graduated with a first class degree in Mandarin Chinese.

Career

Ehrman joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Diplomatic Service in 1973, and has had postings in Beijing, New York and Hong Kong. He was the British Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1998 to 2000.

He was the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's director general for defence and intelligence between 2002 and 2004,[3] before becoming British Ambassador to China from 2006 to 2010. Ehrman gave evidence to the Iraq Inquiry in November 2009.[3]

Personal life

Ehrman is married to Penelope Ann Le Patourel (daughter of Wallace Le Patourel VC), and the couple have three daughters and a son named Tom.[1]

References

1. "New JIC chair William Ehrman profiled". BBC News. 20 July 2004.
2. A & C Black (2012). "EHRMAN, Sir William (Geoffrey)". Who's Who 2012, online edition. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
3. "Inquiry told Iraq could not 'use' chemical weapons". BBC News. BBC. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.

External links

• Bio at British Embassy in China

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir John Sawers	Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary 1995–1997	Succeeded by Sir John Grant
Preceded by Nick Elam	British Ambassador to Luxembourg 1998–2000	Succeeded by Gordon Wetherell
Preceded by Sir Peter Ricketts	Director, International Security of the Foreign Office 2000–2002	Succeeded by Edward Oakden
Preceded by Sir Stephen Wright	Director-General, Defence and Intelligence of the Foreign Office 2002–2004	Succeeded by Sir David Richmond
Preceded by Sir Christopher Hum	British Ambassador to China 2006–2010	Succeeded by Sebastian Wood
Government offices
Preceded by Sir John Scarlett	Chairman (interim) of the Joint Intelligence Committee 2004–2005	Succeeded by Sir Richard Mottram