Sir Emyr Jones Parry FLSW (born 21 September 1947) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

retired

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He is a former

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook *"Permanent", a song by Alex Lahey from ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', 2023 Other ...

and former UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council.

Education

Jones Parry was educated at Gwendraeth Grammar School, and went on to take

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

at University College Cardiff (where he was President of the

Students' Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

). Later, he gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in

polymer physics Polymer physics is the field of physics that studies polymers, their fluctuations, mechanical properties, as well as the kinetics of reactions involving degradation of polymers and polymerisation of monomers.P. Flory, ''Principles of Polymer Che ...

at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

Diplomatic career

Jones Parry joined the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

in 1973 and his first posting was to the British High Commission in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

as First Secretary (1974–79). He returned to the FCO to work in the European Community Department (Internal) for the period 1979–82. Following this he entered the Office of UK Representation to 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 ...

in Brussels as First Secretary (Energy) and then (Institutions) 1982–86. He followed this with a period as Deputy Head at the Office of the

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

(1987–89), before again returning to the FCO as Head of European Community Department (External) (1989–93). His next overseas position was as Minister at the British Embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

(1993–97), followed by the post of Deputy Political Director in the Foreign Office, where he was also responsible for

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and Aegean policy (1996–97). His next position in 1997 was Director European Union during the 1998 United Kingdom Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with overall responsibility for policy, co-ordination and organisation of the presidency. From July 1998 until August 2001 he was the FCO Political Director. He took over as Permanent Representative to NATO in September 2001, and held the position until 2003, whereupon he became the Permanent Representative of the UK on the

United Nations 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 ...

in New York. In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of the All Wales Convention – a body established by the Welsh Assembly Government to review Wales's constitutional arrangements and in particular to spearhead the campaign to increase the powers of the Assembly to a full legislative parliament similar to the Scottish Parliament. In July 2007, it was announced that Jones Parry would be appointed president of

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

, succeeding Lord Elystan Morgan on 1 January 2008. From August 2015 to December 2017 he was the first chancellor of the university. In September 2010 he was appointed Chairman of the Trustees of the Wales Millennium Centre. In May 2014 Jones Parry was elected President of the Learned Society of Wales. Since January 2008 he has been Chairman of Redress, a human rights organization based in London. From March 2008 until July 2011, Jones Parry was Chair of the Open University Business School's International Advisory board, tasked with supporting the global development of the school. In 2009 Jones Parry was nominated by the United Kingdom as the

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992 to 1995 Bos ...

, according to Wikileaks cables, He never took up the position.

Private life

Sir Emyr is married to Lady Jones Parry (Lynn); the couple have two children. Emyr Jones Parry was promoted from a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George ( KCMG) to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George ( GCMG) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of June 2007. Sir Emyr is a keen supporter of

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

and Swansea City Association Football Club. He was also made an honorary fellow of

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

in 2003,Profile: Sir Emyr Jones Parry
, cardiff.ac.uk; accessed 27 March 2016. of Aberystwyth University in 2006, and of St Catharine's College, Cambridge in 2008, and is an honorary LL.D of the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Offices held

Sources

1. http://www.aber.ac.uk/aberonline/en/archive/2007/07/uwa8107/ 2. https://web.archive.org/web/20121002150614/http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/about/fellows/previous/index.html

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones Parry, Emyr 1947 births Living people Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Alumni of Cardiff University People associated with the Open University People associated with Aberystwyth University Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Welsh diplomats Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to NATO Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales