Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay (3 May 1877 – 21 August 1945) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Turkey from 1925 to 1926 and to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1926 to 1928, Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1928 to 1930 and Ambassador to the United States from 1930 to 1939.

Background and education

Lindsay was the fifth son of James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford, by Emily Florence Bootle-Wilbraham. David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford, was his elder brother and his maternal grandfather was Colonel the Honourable Edward Bootle-Wilbraham (second son of Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale).thepeerage.com Rt. Hon. Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay
/ref> He 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 ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Hampshire.

Career

Lindsay was appointed

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

in 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 January 1901, and advanced to First Secretary in 1911. From 1913 to 1919 he was Under-Secretary of Finance for Egypt, and was made a Grand Officer of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...

by the

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally ...

in 1915. From 1919 to 1920 he was Counsellor of the Embassy in Washington D.C.,"New Ambassador"
in ''Time'', 1 May 1939 before being posted as Minister Plenipotentiary to France in September 1920. In 1921, he was appointed the Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign Office, a post he held until 1924. In 1925, he was appointed the Ambassador to Turkey and was sworn of the Privy Council later that year. In 1926, he moved to become Ambassador to Germany. He returned to London in 1928 to become the

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790. Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State f ...

, the civil service head of 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 ...

British Ambassador to the United States

After two years as Permanent Secretary, Lindsay was named as the Ambassador to the United States in November 1929, and took up the position early the next year."Ambassador Ronald"
in ''Time'', 25 November 1929 He was the first ambassador to move into the brand-new British embassy in 1930, and remained in Washington for almost a decade, retiring in June 1939 to be replaced by Lord Lothian. Lindsay served an extraordinarily long term of nine years as U.S. ambassador, also as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps from July 1934 to August 1939, his tenure being extended because of his effectiveness as a diplomat and the growing importance of American assistance during the years leading up to World War II. His last major official act as ambassador was to host the 1939 Royal Garden Party for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the first-ever visit to the United States by a reigning British monarch. The Royal Garden Party at the British embassy was considered the social event of the year in Washington.

Honours

Lindsay was appointed a Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(MVO) in 1908, a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1922, a Knight Commander 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 ...

in 1924, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1926.

Personal life

Lindsay was married twice, both times to Americans; in 1909 to Martha Cameron, daughter of J. Donald Cameron (a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and the 32nd

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

) and his wife Elizabeth Sherman Cameron; and after his first wife's death in April 1918, he married prominent landscape gardener Elizabeth Sherman Hoyt, daughter of Colgate Hoyt, in 1924. Both wives were grandnieces of

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

. There were no children from either marriage. Lindsay died in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

in August 1945, aged 68. Lady Lindsay died in September 1954, aged 68.

References

Sources

*Spinzia, Raymond E. and Judith A. ''Long Island's Prominent North Shore Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes''. vol. I.

College Station, TX College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...

, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Ronald 1877 births 1945 deaths People educated at Winchester College Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Deans of the Diplomatic Corps to the United States Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Turkey Younger sons of earls Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century British diplomats