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Horace Phillips (diplomat)

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Sir Horace Hyman Phillips
KCMG
Personal details
Born(1917-05-31)May 31, 1917
Glasgow, Scotland
DiedMarch 19, 2004(2004-03-19) (aged 86)
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Idina, Lady Phillips (née Idina Doreen Morgan)
Children2
OccupationDiplomat
AwardsCMG (1963), KCMG (1973)

Sir Horace Hyman Phillips, KCMG (31 May 1917 – 19 March 2004), was a British diplomat. He was the first British Jewish career ambassador.[1]

Early life and education

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Phillips was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the eldest of seven children. His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe.[1] He attended Hillhead High School and later joined the Inland Revenue as a clerical officer.[2]

Military career

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During the Second World War, Phillips served in the British Army and later in the British Indian Army, where he reached the rank of major.[3] He was part of the Dorsetshire Regiment and the 1st Punjab Regiment, serving in Iraq, India, Burma, Ceylon, and Malaya. While stationed in India, he attended the School of Japanese Instruction in Simla, where he completed a six-month course in the Japanese language for intelligence work.[3]

Diplomatic career

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Phillips initially faced rejection from the Consular Service due to his social background but joined the Diplomatic Service in 1947.[4] Over the next two decades, he served in Persia (modern-day Iran), Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Aden, and Iran.[2]

Ambassadorial roles

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Phillips was appointed British Ambassador to Indonesia from 1966 to 1968.[5] In 1968, he was selected as the British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Initially, the Saudi government granted their agrément, 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".[6] In reality, Phillips was an observant Jew and a member of a synagogue.[4]

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.[4] During his tenure in Turkey, he was in office when Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974.

Post-retirement

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After retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 1977, Phillips worked as a resident representative for Taylor Woodrow for ten years.[4] He later became a lecturer at Bilkent University in Ankara, where he taught diplomacy until 1997.[7]

Honours and legacy

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Phillips was appointed CMG in 1963 and promoted to KCMG in 1973 for his services to diplomacy.[8]

In 2023, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) honored him by dedicating the "Phillips Room" at their headquarters in King Charles Street, London.[6]

Personal life

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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 correspondent Luisa Baldini.[1]

Phillips authored the book Ihsan Dogramaci: A Remarkable Turk in 1997, chronicling the life of Turkish academic and philanthropist İhsan Doğramacı.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sir Horace Phillips Obituary", The Daily Telegraph, 2004.
  2. ^ a b "Sir Horace Phillips"[dead link], The Times (London), 2004.
  3. ^ a b Kornicki, Peter. Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan. London: Hurst & Co., 2021, p. 171.
  4. ^ a b c d Daily Telegraph obituary
  5. ^ "House of Lords Hansard: Appointment of British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia", 8 May 1968.
  6. ^ a b "UK posthumously honors Jewish diplomat blocked by Saudis in 1968 for being a Jew", The Times of Israel, 20 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Interview with Sir Horace Phillips" (PDF), British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996.
  8. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette", 6 June 1973.
  9. ^ "Ihsan Dogramaci: A Remarkable Turk", WorldCat.
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