Sir Horace Hyman Phillips, KCMG (31 May 1917 – 19 March 2004), was a British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He was the first British Jewish career ambassador."Sir Horace Phillips Obituary"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 2004.

Early life and education

Phillips was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, the eldest of seven children. His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe. He attended

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

and later joined the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

as a clerical officer."Sir Horace Phillips"
''The Times'' (London), 2004.

Military career

During the

Second World War 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 ...

, Phillips served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and later in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, where he reached the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

.Kornicki, Peter. ''Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan''. London: Hurst & Co., 2021, p. 171. He was part of the Dorsetshire Regiment and the

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, i ...

, serving in

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and Malaya. While stationed in India, he attended the School of Japanese Instruction in

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

, where he completed a six-month course in the Japanese language for intelligence work.

Diplomatic career

Phillips initially faced rejection from the Consular Service due to his social background but 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 1947.''Daily Telegraph'' obituary
/ref> Over the next two decades, he served in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(modern-day Iran),

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, and Iran.

Ambassadorial roles

Phillips was appointed British Ambassador to Indonesia from 1966 to 1968. In 1968, he was selected as the British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Initially, the Saudi government granted their

agrément Agrément, in international affairs, is the agreement by a state to receive members of a diplomatic mission from a foreign country. In this procedure, the posting state formally requests consent, via a ''demande d'agréation'', from the receivin ...

, but later withdrew it upon learning that Phillips was Jewish. This decision led to significant media coverage, with some reports falsely claiming he was a "non-practising Jew"."UK posthumously honors Jewish diplomat blocked by Saudis in 1968 for being a Jew"
''The Times of Israel'', 20 May 2023. In reality, Phillips was an observant Jew and a member of a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. Following this controversy, he was appointed British High Commissioner to Tanzania in 1968 and later served as British Ambassador to Turkey from 1973 to 1977. During his tenure in Turkey, he was in office when Turkey invaded

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 1974.

Post-retirement

After retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 1977, Phillips worked as a resident representative for

Taylor Woodrow Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival housebuilder George Wimpey ...

for ten years. He later became a lecturer at

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, where he taught diplomacy until 1997.

Honours and legacy

Phillips was appointed CMG in 1963 and promoted to KCMG in 1973 for his services to diplomacy. In 2023, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) honored him by dedicating the "Phillips Room" at their headquarters in King Charles Street, London.

Personal life

Phillips was married to Idina, Lady Phillips (''née'' Idina Doreen Morgan) for over 60 years. They had two children and four grandchildren, one of whom is the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

correspondent

Luisa Baldini Luisa Baldini (born in Tanzania) is an Anglo-Italian presentation and communication expert, previously having worked for BBC News as a Deputy Royal Correspondent among many other assignments. Education Baldini was educated at St Helen's School, ...

. Phillips authored the book '' Ihsan Dogramaci: A Remarkable Turk'' in 1997, chronicling the life of Turkish academic and philanthropist

İhsan Doğramacı İhsan Doğramacı (3 April 1915 – 25 February 2010) was a Turkish people, Turkish paediatrician, entrepreneur, philanthropist, educationalist and college administrator of Iraqi Turkmen descent born in modern Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq ...

."Ihsan Dogramaci: A Remarkable Turk"
WorldCat.

References

External links

Interview with Sir Horace Phillips

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Horace 1917 births 2004 deaths British diplomats British Jews Scottish Jews Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Dorset Regiment soldiers British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Indonesia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Turkey Diplomats from Glasgow