Sir David Francis Muirhead (30 December 1918 – 3 February 1999) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Peru, Portugal and Belgium.

Career

Muirhead was educated at

Cranbrook School, Kent Cranbrook School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state funded boarding and day grammar school in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13. History The school wa ...

where he was a Cadet Serjeant in the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

.The London Gazette, 13 July 1937
/ref> He was commissioned in the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...

in 1937 with the rank of second lieutenant. In 1939, having passed the Officers Examination at RMC Sandhurst, he was appointed to the

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

and served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

.MUIRHEAD, Sir David (Francis)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 25 March 2012 In 1946 he passed the Foreign Service Examination and was appointed to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. He was appointed

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

in 1948,The London Gazette, 27 July 1948
/ref> and posted to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 1949,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1950, the Foreign Office in 1953,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in 1955 and the Foreign Office again in 1959, where he was

Under-Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

1966–67. He was British Ambassador to Peru 1967–70, to Portugal 1970–74 and to Belgium 1974–78. He was a Special Representative of the

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, Government of the United Kingdo ...

1979–94, was a member of the Council of St Dunstan's 1981–89 and a Commissioner of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

1981–86. He was appointed CVO in 1957, CMG in 1964, and knighted KCMG in 1976.Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1976
/ref> He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Portuguese

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

and the Grand Cross of the Peruvian Order of Distinguished Service.

Personal life

In 1942 David Muirhead married the Hon. Elspeth Hope-Morley, daughter of the 2nd Baron Hollenden and Lady Hollenden, née the Hon. Mary Gardner, daughter of

Herbert Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere Herbert Colstoun Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere, (9 June 1846 – 6 May 1921) was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until he was raised to the peerage in 1895. He served as President of the Board of Agricu ...

. They had two sons and one daughter. Lady Muirhead (as she became) died in 1989.

References

* Obituary, The Times, 10 February 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, David Francis 1918 births 1999 deaths People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent British Army personnel of World War II Artists' Rifles officers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Order of Christ (Portugal)