Sir Crispin Charles Cervantes Tickell (25 August 1930 – 25 January 2022) was a British diplomat, environmentalist, and academic.

Background

Tickell was born in London, the son of writer Jerrard Tickell and Renée (née Haynes), a great-granddaughter of Thomas Henry Huxley. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

where he was a King's Scholar, and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating in 1952 with first class honours in Modern History.Crispin Tickell online CV
Accessed 14 April 2007. He did his national service 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 of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

as a 2nd Lieutenant from 1952 to 1954.

Diplomatic career

Tickell joined the British diplomatic service in 1954, serving at the Foreign Office Main Building in London until 1955. He was responsible for looking after the British Antarctic Territory; the experience gained may have laid the foundations for long-term interests in the environment.Citation Cranfield University Honorary Graduation He then had a posting at the British Embassy in

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 ...

(1955–58);

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

(1958–61); London (1961–64); Paris (1964–70); and Private Secretary to various Chancellors of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

(1970–72) during negotiations for the UK entry into the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. He was later Chef de Cabinet to the President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

(1977–1980), British Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1983), Permanent Secretary of the Overseas Development Administration (now

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

) (1984–1987), and British Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative on the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

(1987–1990). He was appointed MVO in 1958 and later knighted as a KCVO in 1983 on the Royal Yacht Britannia, to mark the conclusion of Queen Elizabeth's Official Visit to Mexico. He was appointed GCMG for his work at the UN in 1988.

Spying at U.N. headquarters debate

When Clare Short, former international development secretary in Blair's Cabinet, said that British intelligence bugged the office of

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

, the UN Secretary-General, Tickell refused to comment on the accuracy of Short's claim, saying he had a continuing duty of loyalty to governments past and present and told the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, "What I would say is I would not be surprised if in New York there is a great deal of listening all over the place from one country to another, and I don't know whether it really makes very much difference. My conscience is quite clear about these matters and I would not think it necessarily a bad thing at all if it is in the national interest." Tickell added, "Our friends and allies may indeed be doing something like that themselves." Tickell also criticized Short for resigning from her position of Secretary for International Development in protest of Tony Blair's entry into the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

in May 2003 and reprimanded her: "your prime loyalty is to your employer and, indeed, to the interests of the country."

Academic career

Tickell was President of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

from 1990 to 1993 and Warden of Green College, Oxford, between 1990 and 1997, where he appointed

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is an English journalist, author, and Environmental movement, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and has written several books. Monbiot ...

and Norman Myers as Visiting Fellows. Green College merged with Templeton College in 2008 to become Green Templeton College, located at what was previously Green College. He was President of the Marine Biological Association from 1990 to 2001. From 1996 until August 2006 he was chancellor of the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

when Sir Robert Worcester took over the position. He was director of the Policy Foresight Programme of the James Martin 21st Century School at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(formerly the Green College Centre for Environmental Policy and Understanding) and Chairman Emeritus of the Climate Institute, in Washington D.C. He has many interests, including

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, population issues, conservation of biodiversity, and the early

history of the Earth The natural history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by consta ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

credited Tickell with persuading her to make a speech on global climate change to the Royal Society in September 1988 (though the speech was written by Thatcher and George Guise). He chaired

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

's Government Panel on Sustainable Development (1994–2000), and was a member of two government task forces under the Labour Party: one on

urban regeneration Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

, chaired by Sir Richard Rogers, later Lord Rogers (1998–99), and one on potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (2000). He was an Honorary Fellow of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept ...

Public impact

A man of strong environmental convictions, he was described as having been influential in Britain, although his environmental message did not always travel as easily abroad, particularly to the United States. His 1977 book ''Climatic Change and World Affairs'' argued that mandatory international pollution control would eventually be necessary. Despite his non-scientific background, he was internationally respected as having had a strong grasp of science policy issues. He was the recipient, between 1990 and 2006, of 23 honorary doctorates. He was the president of the UK charity Tree Aid, which enables communities in Africa's

drylands Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment. He was also a patron of

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

concern charity Population Matters, (formerly known as the Optimum Population Trust), and told BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme that the ideal population for Britain could be around 20 million. As a member of Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force, Tickell counselled against spreading cities saying that we need denser living, that young adults should not expect to leave home straight away, and that older relatives could live in "granny flats".

Personal life and death

Sir Crispin lived in a converted barn in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

. He married Chloe Gunn in 1954 but the marriage was dissolved in 1976. He had two sons and one daughter from this marriage. The following year, he married Penelope Thorne. His main recreations included climatology, paleohistory,

pre-Columbian art Pre-Columbian art refers to the Visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Americas, visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North America, North, Central America, Central, and South Americas from at least 13,000 BCE to the European con ...

, and mountains. His son is Oliver Tickell, former editor of '' The Ecologist''. Tickell died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 25 January 2022, at the age of 91.

Former appointments

* Non-executive Director, IBM UK (1990–1995) * Trustee,

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

(1992–2001) * Trustee, Baring Foundation (1992–2002)

Publications

*''Climate Change and World Affairs'', with a preface by

Solly Zuckerman Solomon "Solly" Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman (30 May 1904 – 1 April 1993) was a British public servant, zoologist and operational research pioneer. He is best remembered as a scientific advisor to the Allies on bombing strategy in the Second ...

(1977, second edition 1986, Harvard International Affairs Committee)
second edition available online in full
*''Mary Anning of Lyme Regis'', with a preface by

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. After leaving Oxford Uni ...

(1996, 1998 and 2003).

Styles and honours

* Mr Crispin Tickell (1930–1958) * Mr Crispin Tickell MVO (1958–1983) * Sir Crispin Tickell KCVO (1983–1988) * Sir Crispin Tickell GCMG KCVO (from 1988)

References

External links

Archive of his worksTalk presentated at the RIBA: Sir Crispin Tickell, The Future of Cities: Hazards of Environmental Change
Video)
Interview with Sir Crispin Tickell

transcript
, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1999

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tickell, Crispin 1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century British diplomats Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mexico British environmentalists Chancellors of the University of Kent Coldstream Guards officers Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom Fellows of Green Templeton College, Oxford Huxley family Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Westminster School, London Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Recipients of the Royal Geographical Society Patron's Medal Wardens of Green College, Oxford