Colin Crowe
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Sir Colin Tradescant Crowe (7 September 1913 – 19 July 1989) was a British diplomat who was stationed in Egypt at a critical period, and afterwards was ambassador to Saudi Arabia, high commissioner to Canada and permanent representative at the United Nations.


Early life and education

Colin Tradescant Crowe was born in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Japan, where his father, Edward Crowe (later Sir Edward), also a diplomat, was commercial attaché at the British Embassy. Crowe was educated at Stowe School and earned a first-class degree in modern history from
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
.


Career

Crowe joined the Diplomatic Service and served as in Peking 1936–1938 and at Shanghai 1938–1940. After postings in Washington, D.C., Paris and
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
he served again in Peking (Beijing) 1950–1953. Chinese 'volunteers' were fighting the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and, although Britain had recognised the People's Republic of China, the communists harassed British diplomats. Crowe's brother-in-law, Antonio Riva, was executed in August 1951 on a charge of conspiring to murder chairman
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
. Crowe was appointed as prospective ''
chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...
'' in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in 1957. Diplomatic relations had ceased during the Suez crisis and Crowe was unable to proceed to Cairo until 1959. His task was to overcome Egyptian suspicion and the after-effects of the Suez war so as to restore normal relations. He succeeded, and ambassadors were exchanged in 1961.
Universally liked and respected by all with whom he came in contact, he skilfully addressed the problems ... A man of less genuine modesty would have made more of what had been a major diplomatic triumph. :— Obituary, ''The Times'', London, 24 July 1989, page 18
Crowe moved on to be deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York City. In 1963 he was appointed Ambassador to
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, the first since the Suez crisis. After a sabbatical year as supernumerary fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford 1964–1965 he served as Chief of Administration, HM Diplomatic Service, 1965–1968; High Commissioner to Canada 1968–1970; and Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1970–1973.
Crowe was neither an outstanding UN rhetorician nor an incisive drafter of telegrams and dispatches. His strength lay in the palpable decency of his character and the commonsensical soundness of his judgement. Humorous, patient, and considerate, he got the best out of his staff, who also enjoyed his explosions of fury at pomposity, pretentiousness and time-serving. His foreign interlocutors rapidly became friends whether they agreed or disagreed on policies. There cannot have been many senior Bntish diplomats in this century who were so widely popular and respected in so many different circles. :— Obituary, ''The Times'', London, 24 July 1989, page 18
After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Sir Colin Crowe was a director of Grindlays Bank 1976–1984, chairman of the Council of Cheltenham Ladies College 1974–1986, and chairman of the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission 1973–1985.


Personal life

In 1938, while Crowe was stationed in Peking, Colin Crowe married Bettina Lum, nicknamed Peter, who as the daughter of American missionary Burt Francis Lum and artist Bertha Lum had lived in China since 1922. She became an author and an expert on China. They had no children.


Honours

Colin Crowe was appointed CMG in 1956, knighted KCMG in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1963 on his appointment to Saudi Arabia, and promoted GCMG in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1973.Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 June 1973
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Additional sources

*
CROWE, Sir Colin Tradescant
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online ed., Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 19 July 2012 * Sir Colin Crowe (obituary), ''The Times'', London, 24 July 1989, page 18


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, Colin Tradescant 1913 births 1989 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford Heads of the British Mission in Egypt High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service People educated at Stowe School Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations 20th-century British diplomats British diplomats in China