Antony Acland
Sir Antony Arthur Acland KG GCMG GCVO (born 12 March 1930) is a former British diplomat and Provost of Eton College.
Early life
Antony Acland is the second son of Brigadier Peter Acland. He was educated at Eton College, then in 1948 joined the Royal Artillery with a post-war "emergency commission".[1] After short army service he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, gaining a BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1953 (later upgraded to MA). After leaving Oxford in 1953 he went straight into the Foreign Office (FO).[2]
Career
After studying at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Acland was posted to Dubai and then Kuwait, then back to the FO as Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary (Selwyn Lloyd, then Lord Home) 1959–62. He then served at the UK Mission to the UN, first in New York 1962–66, then at Geneva 1966–68. Back at the FCO he was head of the Arabian department 1970–72.
Acland was Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary (Sir Alec Douglas-Home, then James Callaghan) 1972–75. He was Ambassador to Luxembourg 1975–77[3] and to Spain 1977–79. He was Deputy Under-Secretary at the FCO 1979–82, a post which then entailed chairing the Joint Intelligence Committee. In 1982 he was promoted to Permanent Under-Secretary and head of the Diplomatic Service. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982 and Acland came into collision with the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, over the diplomatic response. At one point during a heated discussion he threatened to resign, whereupon Thatcher backed down and said 'All right, no more Foreign Office bashing.'[4]
Acland was Ambassador to the United States at Washington, D.C., 1986–91, then retired from the Diplomatic Service and was Provost of Eton College 1991–2000.[5]
Acland was a member of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford, helping to raise funds for the Institute's building and library.[6]
Honours
Acland was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1976 New Year Honours[7] and made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in November of that year after Queen Elizabeth's state visit to Luxembourg,[8] after which he was styled "Sir Anthony Acland". He was given the additional knighthood of Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1982 Birthday Honours[9] and promoted to Knight Grand Cross of that same order in the 1986 Birthday Honours[10] and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1991 Birthday Honours.[11] He was Chancellor of the between 1994 and 2005.[12] In 2001 he was given the rare honour of appointment as a Knight of the Order of the Garter.[13]
Personal life
In 1956 Acland married Clare Anne Verdon; they had two sons and a daughter, including Simon Acland. She died in 1984 and in 1987 he married Jennifer McGougan.
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Ancestry
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Sources
- ACLAND, Sir Antony (Arthur), Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
- Sir Antony Acland interviewed by Liz Cox on Monday 23 April 2001, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme (BDOHP), Churchill College, Cambridge
References
- ^ "No. 38520". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1949. p. 442.
- ^ BDOHP interview, p.2
- ^ "No. 46681". The London Gazette. 11 September 1975. p. 11464.
- ^ BDOHP interview, p.33
- ^ "No. 52592". The London Gazette. 2 July 1991. p. 10098.
- ^ Founding Council Archived 17 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Rothermere American Institute
- ^ "No. 46777". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1975. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 47074". The London Gazette. 23 November 1976. p. 15755.
- ^ "No. 49008". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1982. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 50551". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1986. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 52557". The London Gazette. 11 June 1991. p. 8957.
- ^ "Court Circular". Independent. 10 June 1994.
- ^ "No. 56183". The London Gazette. 23 April 2001. p. 4839.
- ^ Anthony Acland's banner of arms image, Heraldic Sculptor. Retrieved 20 December 2013
- ^ Banner image Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. St George-Windsor. Retrieved 20 December 2013
- ^ Anthony Acland's crest image. Retrieved 20 December 2013
- 1930 births
- Living people
- Acland family
- People educated at Eton College
- Royal Artillery officers
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- Members of HM Diplomatic Service
- Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Spain
- Chairs of the Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom)
- Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States
- Provosts of Eton College
- Knights of the Garter
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order