Sir Peter Harold Reginald Marshall KCMG, CVO (30 July 1924 – 10 June 2023) was a British diplomat.

Early life and education

Born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

to Winifred and Reginald Marshall, an auditor, Marshall was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

and served as a navigator in 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he attended

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, as a choral scholar, earning a degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1949.

Career

Marshall joined the Diplomatic Service, holding positions in

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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 ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

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, and

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 ...

over his first two decades. In 1979, Marshall was posted to Geneva, where he focused on multilateral diplomacy. Following his retirement from the Diplomatic Service, he served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and later became chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society. He was involved in several organisations, including the

Council for Education in World Citizenship The Council for Education in World Citizenship (CEWC) was an educational charity that was founded in England in 1939.Gordon, Professor Peter; Gordon, Peter; Lawton, Professor Denis. Dictionary of British Education'. Routledge; 2003-04-01 ited 9 Ma ...

, the

English-Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organisation headquartered in London, England. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages ...

, and St Catherine's Foundation. Marshall authored ''Positive Diplomacy'', a guide based on his Foreign Office experiences and served as a visiting lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of London. He was known for his expertise in economics and his methodical approach to negotiations.

Personal life

Marshall was married twice, first to Patricia Stoddart until her death in 1981, and then to Judith Tomlin until her death in 2013. He was survived by his children, Fiona and Guy Marshall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Peter 1924 births 2023 deaths British diplomats Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George