Sir Patrick Francis Hancock (25 June 1914 – 1 February 1980) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Israel, Norway and Italy.

Career

Patrick Francis Hancock was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He joined 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 was appointed Third Secretary 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 ...

. On 10 January 1940, he was transferred to the British embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, but was recalled on 14 May following the German invasion of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Upon Hancock's return to London, he was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Warfare as Private Secretary to the Minister,

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreig ...

. According to John Colville's diaries, Hancock found Dalton 'brilliant but unlovable'. He returned to the Foreign Office on 12 January 1942 and was promoted to Second Secretary in October of the same year. On 28 May 1943 Hancock was transferred to the

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

embassy and remained there until 16 July 1945, when he was recalled to London. In November 1948 Hancock was sent to the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

embassy and became ''chargé d'affaires'' there in 1949. He was recalled to the Foreign Office on 9 July 1951, and on 16 May 1953 was made Head of the Central Department. He was appointed private secretary to the Foreign Secretary on 1 September 1955, and remained in this post until 15 October 1956, when he was appointed Head of the Western Department. Hancock was

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 ...

to Israel 1959–62, and then to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

1963–65. In 1965 he was transferred back to London and promoted to Assistant Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, and then promoted again in 1968 to Deputy Under-Secretary. Following this, Hancock was sent to Rome and served as ambassador to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

1969–74.

Later and private life

Hancock retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1974 and was secretary of the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is an independent charitable grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. The Trust's aims are to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable and preserve the best of the past for the public to enjoy. The Trust awards approxima ...

from 1975 until his death.Sir Henry Fisher
Sir Patrick Hancock
''The Times'', London, 20 February 1980, page 17 Hancock married Beatrice Mangeot (née Huckell) in 1947. They had one son and one daughter.

Honours

Hancock was appointed CMG in 1956, knighted KCMG in 1969 and raised to GCMG in 1974 on his retirement.Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 June 1974
/ref>

References

Notes

HANCOCK, Sir Patrick
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Sir Patrick Hancock
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 2 February 1980, page 14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Patrick Francis 1914 births 1980 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Israel Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Norway Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George