Ivor Forsyth Porter CMG,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(12 November 1913 – 29 May 2012) was a British ambassador and author.

Education

Porter was brought up in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School and

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

where he studied English.

Special Operations Executive

In 1939, Porter was sent to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

on an academic post with the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

to teach English at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

. In 1940 he was transferred to the Legation, and remained there until it was withdrawn from Romania on 12 February 1941. On 1 March 1941, Porter was recruited by SOE, and was one of a covert three-man mission that was parachuted into Romania in December 1943 to instigate resistance against the Nazis at "any cost" ( Operation Autonomous). The SOE agents were captured and held as prisoners-of-war until, on 23 August 1944, King Michael of Romania carried out his anti-German

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. Porter met King Michael that night and remained in the country during the King's desperate efforts to prevent Soviet domination. In June 2008 he was awarded the Cross of the Royal House of Romania.

Foreign Office

He joined 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 ...

in May 1946 and served in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the U.K. delegation to NATO,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, as U.K. representative to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was ambassador in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

(with concurrent accreditation in

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

) and to the Arms Control Committee in Geneva.

Author

Porter wrote two books after retirement: '' Operation Autonomous: With SOE in Wartime Romania'' () and ''Michael of Romania: The King and the Country'' (). ''Operation Autonomous'' was short listed for the Time-Life/Pen Award for non-fiction. In 2005 he was made Commander of the Romanian order of "Meritul Cultural".

Honours

National honours

* : Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

independent.co.uk
obituary also listing honours awarded
/ref> * : Knight Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Foreign honours

Romanian Royal Family The Romanian royal family () constitutes the Romanian subbranch of the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern (also known as the ''House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen''), and was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional ...

: 35th Knight of the Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal House

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Ivor 1913 births 2012 deaths Alumni of the University of Leeds British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Romania British Special Operations Executive personnel People educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School for Boys Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Senegal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mali Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mauritania Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Guinea