Sir Odo William Theophilus Russell (3 May 1870 – 23 December 1951) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Switzerland, the Vatican and the Netherlands.

Early life

Russell was the second son of Odo Russell, later the first

Baron Ampthill Baron Ampthill, of Ampthill in the County of Bedfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat Lord Odo Russell. He was the third son of Major-General Lord George Russell, second so ...

, by Lady Emily Villiers, daughter of

George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (12 January 180027 June 1870) was an English diplomat and statesman from the Villiers family. He served a succession of Whig and Liberal administrations. This included as Viceroy in f ...

and Lady Katherine Grimston (daughter of the 1st Earl of Verulam). His elder brother was

Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill, (19 February 1869 – 7 July 1935) was a British peer and civil servant. He served as Governor of Madras from October 1900 to February 1906, and as acting Viceroy of India from April to Decemb ...

. His paternal grandparents were Maj.-Gen.

Lord George Russell Major-General Lord George William Russell (8 May 1790 – 16 July 1846) was a British soldier, politician and diplomat. He was the second son of the 6th Duke of Bedford and brother to John Russell, the Whig and Liberal Prime Minister. Amon ...

(second son of the 6th Duke of Bedford) and Elizabeth Anne Rawdon (niece of the 1st Marquess of Hastings). His grand-uncle was the 1st Earl Russell, twice

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Career

Russell entered the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1892 and served in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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 ...

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and

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. ...

, where he held the rank of counsellor from 1909 to 1915. He was then Diplomatic Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

from 1915 to 1919, Minister at

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

from 1919 to 1922, Minister to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

from 1922 to 1928 and Minister at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

from 1928 to 1933 (the last three posts were equivalent to modern ambassadorships). He was appointed Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(CVO) in 1909, Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1916, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1923 and Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in 1926.

Personal life

On 25 June 1910, while he was stationed in Vienna, Russell married Countess Marie Louise von Rex (10 July 1890 – 16 November 1966), daughter of Count Rudolf Karl Caspar von Rex, the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Minister at the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Court. Together, they had three sons: * Cosmo Rex Ivor Russell (1911–2003), who married Agnes Mary Parsons, daughter of Rev. Richard Edward Parsons, Canon of York, in 1941. * Alaric Charles William Russell (1912–1986), who married Iris Charmian van Raalte, daughter of Noel van Raalte, in 1940. * David Hastings Gerald Russell (1915–1999), who married Hester Clere Parsons, another daughter of the Rev. Richard Edward Parsons, in 1940.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999 volume 1, pp. 69-70. Russell and his wife, the Countess, are buried in the churchyard of

St Michael's, Chenies St Michael's Church at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Oxford in England. It is not of great architectural interest but stands in an attractive position in the Chess Valley near the Chenies ...

, together with other members of the Russell family.RUSSELL, Hon. Sir Odo (William Theophilus Villiers)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 11 April 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Odo William Theophilus Villiers 1870 births 1951 deaths Odo William Theophilus Villiers Younger sons of barons Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Holy See Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath O