Sir John Beith (4 April 1914 – 4 September 2000) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Israel and Belgium.

Career

John Greville Stanley Beith was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. He entered the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1937 and served at 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 ...

until 1940 when he was posted to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. When the German army approached Athens in April 1941 the British Embassy was evacuated and Beith spent the rest of the war in

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 ...

. He returned to the Foreign Office 1945–49 and was then Head of the UK Permanent Delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

1950–53, Head of Chancery at

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

1953–54 and Head of Chancery at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

1954–59. He returned to the Foreign Office again as head of the Levant department 1959–61 and head of the North and East Africa department 1961–63. He was Ambassador to Israel 1963–65, assistant Secretary-General of NATO 1966–67 and Assistant

Under-Secretary of State 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 a ...

at the Foreign Office 1967–69, during which he led the British delegation in talks on the future of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, which ended with the 1967 Gibraltar sovereignty referendum. Beith's final diplomatic post was as Ambassador to Belgium, 1969–74. John Beith was appointed CMG in the

1959 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 30 December 1958 to cele ...

and knighted KCMG in the

1969 Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

Family

In 1949 John Beith married Diana Gregory-Hood, daughter of

Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet (27 May 1876 – 30 March 1940) was a Scottish Unionist politician. He notably served as Home Secretary from 1932 to 1935. Early life Gilmour was the son of Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet, ch ...

. Her father's sister, Mary Gilmour, had married

Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen Sir Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen (26 March 1886 – 21 March 1971) was a British diplomat, civil servant and author. He is best remembered as the diplomat whose secrets were stolen by his Kosovar Albanian Elyesa Bazna, valet and passed ...

who was ambassador to Belgium 1944–47.

References

MUIRHEAD, Sir David (Francis)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 8 June 2012 *Sir John Beith: Cultured diplomat who represented Britain in Belgium and Israel, ''The Times'', 13 September 2000, page 21
Sir John Beith
''The Guardian'', London, 13 September 2000

''The Telegraph'', London, 6 September 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Beith, John Greville Stanley 1914 births 2000 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Israel Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George