Sir Donald Hawley (22 May 1921 – 31 January 2008) was a British colonial lawyer, diplomat and writer.
Career
Donald Frederick Hawley was educated at
Radley College
Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...
. At the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, about to go to university, he volunteered for the
Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry but was told to continue to university: he went to
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...
where he took a four-term wartime degree in law.
In 1941, he joined the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
"without Army pay and allowances whilst specially employed" because he was with Sudanese troops in North Africa. In 1944, he joined the
Sudan Political Service, then the Sudan Judiciary in 1947.
In 1951, he was formally
called to the bar in England. He continued as Chief Registrar of the Sudan Judiciary and Registrar-General of Marriages until 1955 when he resigned from the Sudan service and joined the
British Diplomatic Service
His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...
. After two years in 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 S ...
he was posted as
Political Agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to:
*Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs
*Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...
to the
Trucial States
The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...
, based in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
, 1958–62, then to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
1962–65 and
Lagos
Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...
1965–67.
He then took a
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
break as a fellow of
Durham University, which was cut short due to the resumption of relations with
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
after a break following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
. Hawley was
Counsellor
Counselor or counsellor may refer to:
A professional In diplomacy and government
* Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability
* Counselor (dipl ...
(Commercial) at
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...
(second to the
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 sov ...
) 1968–71, then the first British ambassador to
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
1971–75, assistant
Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister o ...
at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1975–77, and
High Commissioner to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
1977–81. He then retired from the Diplomatic Service and continued as a consultant and other activities including founder membership of the Anglo-Omani Society and the British Malaysian Society, President of the Council of
Reading University
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
1987–94 and chairman of the
Royal Society for Asian Affairs
The Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) is a learned society based in London (United Kingdom). Its objective is to advance public knowledge and understanding of Asia through its worldwide networks, its public events, its publications and its s ...
1994–2002.
Honours
Hawley was appointed MBE in 1955, CMG in 1970, and knighted KCMG in 1978. He was awarded an honorary
DLitt degree by Reading University and an honorary
DCL
DCL or may refer to:
* 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation)
Computers
* Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs
* Data Control Language, a subset of SQL
* Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within AutoC ...
by Durham University.
Family
In 1964, Donald Hawley married Ruth Howes; the couple had a son and three daughters, one of whom is the journalist
Caroline Hawley. In retirement Sir Donald and Lady Hawley lived at
Little Cheverell, Wiltshire, and he wrote a history of the village.
Lady Hawley was appointed
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held '' ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local G ...
for the year 1998
and was appointed a
Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire in 1999.
[''London Gazette'', 19 November 1999]
page 12350
(Commissions signed by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Wiltshire on 9 November 1999)
Publications
*''Judges' robes in the Sudan'', Faculty of Law, University of Khartoum, 1959
*''Courtesies in the Trucial States'', Khayats, Beirut, 1965
*''The Trucial States'', Allen & Unwin, London, 1970.
*''Oman and its renaissance'', Stacey, London, 1977.
*''Manners and correct form in the Middle East'', Debrett's Peerage, 1984.
*''Sandtracks in the Sudan'', Michael Russell, 1995.
*''Courtesies in the Gulf area : a dictionary of colloquial phrase and usage'', Stacey, London, 1998.
*''Sudan Canterbury tales'', Michael Russell, 1999.
*''Desert wind and tropic storm : an autobiography'', Michael Russell, 2000.
*''The Emirates : witness to a metamorphosis'', Michael Russell, 2007.
*''Little Cheverell : the history of a Wiltshire village'', Michael Russell, 2007.
References
HAWLEY, Sir Donald (Frederick) ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
(obituary), ''The Telegraph'', London, 11 February 2008
''The Independent'', London, 3 March 2008
Sir Donald Hawley: Diplomat who served in Sudan, the Middle East and Malaysia and wrote well about Arab matters ''The Times'', London, 15 February 2008
External links
*
Interview with Sir Donald Hawley British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge
Catalogue of the papers of Sir Donald Hawley KCMG, MBE Durham University
Donald Frederick HAWLEY Soldiers of Oxfordshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, Donald Frederick
1921 births
2008 deaths
People educated at Radley College
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Royal Artillery officers
British Army personnel of World War II
Sudan Political Service officers
Academics of Durham University
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Oman
High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia
People associated with the University of Reading
British writers
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan judges
British expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
British expatriates in Egypt
British expatriates in Nigeria