John Thomson (diplomat)

Sir John Thomson GCMG (born 27 April 1927) is a retired British diplomat who was high commissioner to India and ambassador to the UN.

Career

John Adam Thomson was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, the University of Aberdeen and Trinity College, Cambridge. He joined the Foreign Service in 1950^[1] and served at Jeddah, Damascus and Washington, D.C. as well as posts at the Foreign office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO) and a secondment to the Cabinet Office. He was Minister and deputy Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council 1972–73; head of the UK delegation to Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions exploratory talks in Vienna 1973; assistant Under-Secretary at the FCO 1973–76; High Commissioner to India 1977–82; and Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1982–87.

Thomson retired from the Foreign Service in 1987 and among many activities was Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford, 1987–91, chairman of Minority Rights Group International 1991–99 and a trustee of the Indian National Trust UK Trust 1991–99.^[2] He is an adviser to the British American Security Information Council and research affiliate within the Science, Technology and Global Security Working Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[3]

Thomson was appointed CMG in the New Year Honours of 1972,^[4] knighted KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1978^[5] and raised to GCMG in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1985.^[6]

THOMSON, Sir John (Adam), Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir Michael Walker	High Commissioner to India 1977–1982	Succeeded by Sir Robert Wade-Gery
Preceded by Sir Anthony Parsons	Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1982–1987	Succeeded by Sir Crispin Tickell

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