Sir Derek Plumbly (born 15 May 1948) is a British diplomat who has served throughout the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. From 2012 to 2015, he served as the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon.

Early life

Plumbly was born in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

in Hampshire. He attended Brockenhurst Grammar School. He studied politics, philosophy and economics at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. After graduating, Plumbly signed up for

Voluntary Service Overseas VSO is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact through a blended volunteer model c ...

and taught for a year and a half in Sukkur in

Pakistan's Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nat ...

Sindh province Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1972 and subsequently studied Arabic, first at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in

Shemlan Shemlan (), (also spelled Chemlane, Chimlane, Shimlan) is a village in the Aley District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon, located about 25 km from Beirut. History Shemlan is first mentioned in chronicles as early as the 12th c ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, where he lived with a local family for a year, and then at the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan (), often abbreviated UJ or JU, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962, and it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. It is located in the capital Amman in the J ...

Career

Plumbly served in a variety of postings around the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and elsewhere, including aa Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. From February 2008 until the independence of South Sudan in July 2011 he headed the Assessment and Evaluation Commission which was charged with monitoring the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan

In 2011, he was appointed as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL); he served in this position from 2012 to 2015. Since 2015 he has chaired the Arab British Centre, standing down in 2023, and been a visiting professor at King’s College London. He is a Trustee of the British University in Egypt.

Timeline of career

*United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (2012-2015) https://unscol.unmissions.org/ *Chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (2008–2011) Assessment and Evaluation Commission

*Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(2003–2007) *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 ...

(2000–2003) *FCO Director for the Middle East and North Africa (1997-2000) *UK International Drugs Coordinator, FCO Director, Drugs and International Crime (1996-1997) *Head of Chancery, UK Mission to the UN, New York (1992-1996) *Deputy Head of Mission, Riyadh (1988-1992) *First Secretary, Washington (1984-1988) *FCO desk officer, Cyprus, then Saudi Arabia (1980-1984) *First Secretary, Cairo (1977–1980) *Second Secretary,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

(1975–1977)

Honours and awards

Plumbly was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the Gulf War Honours List in 199

and Knight Commander (KCMG) in 200

He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Loughborough University in 2008

Personal

He married Nadia Youssef Gohar in 1979. They have a daughter and two sons.

Notes

References

Curriculum Vitae of Sir Derek Plumbly
Assessment and Evaluation Commission web site. Retrieved 7 July 2009. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumbly, Derek 1948 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Egypt Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Living people University of Jordan alumni Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats