Sir Arthur Wendell Snelling (7 May 1914 – 25 June 1996) was a senior British civil servant and diplomat. He was educated at

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. He was Study Group Secretary at the

Royal Institute of International Affairs Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

, 1934–1936. He joined the

Dominions Office The position of secretary of state for dominion affairs was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for British relations with the Empire’s dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundl ...

in 1936, and became Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary in 1939. Snelling was Deputy High Commissioner for the UK in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, 1947–1950, and the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

, May 1953–January 1956. He was Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the

Commonwealth Relations Office The secretary of state for Commonwealth relations was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The ...

, 1956–1959, and British High Commissioner in Ghana, 1959–1961. Snelling was Deputy Under-Secretary of State at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, 1961–1969, and

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 so ...

to the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, 1970–1973. He was Vice-President of the UK-South Africa Trade Association, 1974–1980. Amongst friends and family he preferred the name Peter, using his birth name for public affairs and correspondence. He had suffered from, and been treated for, lung cancer but died of

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

on 25 June 1996 at his home in Kingston upon Thames. He was survived by his wife Frieda (née Barnes) (11 November 1914 – 22 September 2016).

External links

Cambridge University Janus RepositoryNational Portrait Gallery Pictures of Sir Arthur Wendell Snelling
- Fables has references to Sir Arthur Snelling highlighting his role as UK Ambassador. {{DEFAULTSORT:Snelling, Arthur 1914 births 1996 deaths People educated at Ackworth School Alumni of University College London Ambassadors and high commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Ghana Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George