Sir Michael Scott Weir, (28 January 1925 – 22 June 2006) was a British diplomat.

Early life and career

Weir was born in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, where his father was a primary school teacher. He went to study oriental languages at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

on a state scholarship in 1942. A year later he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, which sent him to

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

to learn

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. He was then posted as an intelligence officer, including to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. After demobilisation in 1947, he went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

where he read classics. He joined the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1950, and quickly became one of its leading

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

s. His early postings included

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

and

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

. Weir's career culminated with his appointment as the United Kingdom's

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 so ...

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 ...

(1979–1985). In 1981, he was sitting behind Egyptian President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

when the president was assassinated at a military parade. Weir retired from the Foreign Service in 1985. He served as president of the

Egypt Exploration Society The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization founded in 1882 for the purpose of financing and facilitating the exploration of significant archeological sites in Egypt and Sudan, founded by writer Amelia Edwards and coin ...

(1988–2006) and Director of the 21st Century Trust (1990–2000). He was the founding Chairman of the British Egyptian Society in 1990 and continued as Chairman until 2006. The society sponsors the ''Sir Michael Weir Annual Lecture'' in his honour.

Family

Weir met his first wife, Alison Walker, at Oxford. They were married from 1953 until 1974 and had four children, including writer and comedian

Arabella Weir Arabella Helen Weir (born 6 December 1957) is an American-born British comedian, actress and writer. She played roles in the comedy series ''The Fast Show'', ''Posh Nosh'' and ''Two Doors Down (TV series), Two Doors Down'', and has written sev ...

. In 1976, Weir married Hilary Reid, with whom he had two children. He died in London on 22 June 2006.

Honours

Weir was appointed CMG in 1974 and KCMG in 1980.

References

External links

* * * * 1925 births 2006 deaths People educated at Dunfermline High School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the University of London Scottish knights Scottish Arabists Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Egypt Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Dunfermline Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers British expatriates in Myanmar British expatriates in Iraq British expatriates in Qatar British expatriates in Bahrain British expatriates in the United Arab Emirates {{UK-diplomat-stub