Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only a ...

Alexander Morley (6 January 1908 – 19 September 1971) was a British diplomat. He served as High Commissioner to Ceylon and High Commissioner to Jamaica, then was ambassador of the United Kingdom to Hungary, retiring in 1967.

Early life

The son of Dr Arthur S. Morley

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, in ...

, the young Morley was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and

Queen’s College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

Career

In 1930 Morley was appointed to the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of ...

; from 1933 to 1936 he was Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India,

Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary ...

, then served in the

Burma Office The Burma Office was a British government department created in 1937 to oversee the administration of Burma. The department was headed until 1947 by the Secretary of State for India and Burma, a member of the British cabinet, and then for a few ...

from 1938 to 1940 before being seconded to the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian m ...

in 1940. From 1945 to 1947 he was back at the Burma Office, then served as Economic Adviser to the Lord Privy Seal, from 1947 to 1949. Transferring to the Commonwealth Relations Office, he was Deputy High Commissioner in New Zealand, 1950 to 1952, Assistant Under-Secretary of State, 1954, Deputy High Commissioner in Calcutta, 1956, and then High Commissioner in Ceylon, 1957–1962, and British High Commissioner in Jamaica, 1962–65. In 1965 he returned to the Foreign Office and was Ambassador to Hungary, 1965 to 1967.‘MORLEY, Sir Alexander’, in ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to ...

'' (A & C Black, 1920–2016; online edition by Oxford University Press, 2014
accessed 11 February 2017
(subscription site)

Private life

In 1939 Morley married Hedy, a daughter of Professor Julius von Landesberger-Antburg, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. They had one daughter.''The Hungarian Quarterly'', Issues 169-172 (2003), p. 121 A member of the

Travellers Club The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs and one of the most exclusive, having been established in 1819. It was described as "the ...

, in 1970 he published ''The Harrap Opera Guide''. His address in retirement was 47 Campden Hill Square,

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road to ...

, London W8.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Alexander 1908 births 1971 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Rugby School Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office