Christopher Meyer
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Sir Christopher Meyer, KCMG (born 22 February 1944) is a former British Ambassador to the United States (1997–2003), and the current chair of the Press Complaints Commission (since 2003).
Meyer was born in 1944 to Reggie Meyer and his wife Eve. Reggie was a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF who was killed in action four days before his son was born. According to the Press Complaints Commission website Meyer was educated at Lancing College, Lycee Henri IV in Paris and Peterhouse, Cambridge where he graduated in History. (He has been an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse since 2002.) After graduating, he attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies at Bologna before beginning his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1966. Between 1988-89 he was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University's Centre for International Affairs.
His first posting, at the age of 24, was as third secretary to the British embassy in Moscow in 1968. Other service included a posting to Spain (1970–1973), heading the political section of the embassy to the Soviet Union (1982–1984), he was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University's Centre for International Affairs (1988-1989), press secretary to Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Sir Geoffrey Howe and Prime Minister John Major (1993–1995), a short stint as British Ambassador to Germany (1997), and finally British Ambassador to the United States from 1997 until his retirement in 2003.
In 1998, Her Majesty the Queen appointed him Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).[1]
He published his memoirs, DC Confidential, in November 2005, with extracts serialised in The Guardian and the Daily Mail. Meyer was criticised for an "unacceptable" breach of trust by the UK Government for releasing the book.
Since 1997 he has been married to Catherine Meyer (née Laylle). He has two sons from a previous marriage, and two stepsons from his present marriage.
Meyer, when asked (in an interview with the BBC) "Which foreign government has the most influence on Washington?", unequivocally responded: "Israel." He was then asked: "And then?" He then said: "Well, in the hit parade I think Israel is in a class of its own...".[2]
Meyer was Independent Director, as well as Chairman of the Board of GlobeTel Communications Corp. (AMEX:GTE) until March 2006. He then became Chairman of the International Advisory Committee.[3]
[edit] Books
- Christopher Meyer (2005), DC Confidential, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. (ISBN 0-297-85114-4)
[edit] References
- ^ Sir Christopher Meyer. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/the_interview.shtml
- ^ Sir Christopher Meyer to Become Independent Director of GlobeTel Communications, Relinquishes Role as Chairman (2006-02-17). Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
[edit] External links
- The Guardian, Sir Christopher Meyer's memoirs
- Denis MacShane, hostile critique of Sir Christopher and his book from a recent UK Foreign Office minister.
- GlobeTel Communications Corp., Web page
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Nigel Broomfield |
British Ambassador to Germany 1997 |
Succeeded by Sir Paul Lever |
| Preceded by Sir John Kerr |
British Ambassador to the United States 1997–2003 |
Succeeded by Sir David Manning |
