Sir Arthur Michael Palliser (9 April 1922 – 19 June 2012) was the vice chairman of the

Salzburg Seminar Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology, public policy, media, human rights, corporate ...

's Board of Directors and a senior British

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

Life

Born in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, the son of Admiral Sir Arthur Palliser, he received his education at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: * Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

. Appointed a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

21 November 1942, he served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1947, he joined the British Diplomatic Service and held a number of appointments at home and abroad including Head of the Policy Planning Staff, Private Secretary to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, Minister at the British Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

and Permanent Representative to the European Communities, and, from 1975 to 1982,

Permanent Under-Secretary of State A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

and Head of the Diplomatic Service. From April to July 1982, during the Falklands campaign, he served as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office. He was appointed a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

in 1983. That same year, he joined the board of the London investment bank Samuel Montagu & Co., a subsidiary of the

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

, of which he became a deputy chairman. He was chairman of Samuel Montagu from 1984 to 1993, then vice chairman until his retirement in 1996. From 1983 to 1992, he was non-executive director of several industrial companies. From 1986 to 1994, he was a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre. Sir Michael served on the faculty of many Salzburg Seminar Sessions.

Personal life

In 1948, Sir Michael married Marie Marguerite Spaak, daughter of Belgian statesman Paul-Henri Spaak. They had three sons:

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

, a painter, Peter, a screenwriter, and Nicholas, a communication executive consultant.

Honours

* Knight of the Order of Orange Nassau with Swords (1947) *

Companion 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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(1966) * Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1973) * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1977) * Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (1983)

References

External links

PALLISER, Rt Hon. Sir (Arthur) Michael
International Who's Who. accessed 1 September 2006.
Interview with Sir Arthur Michael Palliser

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Palliser, Michael 1922 births 2012 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Members of HM Diplomatic Service British people of the Falklands War Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the European Union Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Private secretaries in the British Civil Service People from Reigate British diplomats Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 20th-century British diplomats