Sir Nicholas Henderson

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Sir John Nicholas Henderson GCMG, KCVO (born 1 April 1919) is a retired British career diplomat and writer who served as British ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1982.

Educated at Stowe School and Hertford College, Oxford he joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1946 and rose to become Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary in 1963. Subsequently he served as British Ambassador to Spain, Poland, Germany and France. He retired in 1979 but, on the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in May of that year, she invited him to return to service as Ambassador to Washington, where he served until his retirement in 1982. It is now known that Mrs Thatcher had first asked Sir Edward Heath to take up the post, but he had refused the offer.

He was enormously popular in Washington, and he and his wife Mary formed a close personal friendship with President Ronald Reagan at a crucial time in the latter's presidency, oiling the special friendship which developed between Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

In retirement Henderson has written several books on history, and an account of his career as a diplomat entitled Mandarin. He has also held directorships of several major British companies, including the Channel Tunnel Group, Sotheby's, and Hambros. He also has close ties with the Prince of Wales, serving as Lord Warden of the Stannaries and Chairman of the Prince's Council (the body which oversees the Duchy of Cornwall) after retiring from the Diplomatic Service. He was appointed KCVO for this service to the Crown. He gave the Romanes Lecture in Oxford in 1986.

His father was Sir Hubert Douglas Henderson, a prominent political economist and holder of the Drummond Professor of Political Economy seat at Oxford University. His mother was Faith Marion Jane Bagenal.

In 1951, Henderson married Mary Barber (née Cawadias), a Greek-born former war correspondent for Time-Life.[1][2] She died in 2004. Their only child, Alexandra Nicolette, married the 12th Earl of Drogheda.

He was generally known as "Nico Henderson" in private life.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir Thomas Brimelow	British Ambassador to Poland 1969–1972	Succeeded by Thomas Brenchley
Preceded by ?	British Ambassador to West Germany 1972–1975	Succeeded by Sir Oliver Wright
Preceded by Sir Edward Tompkins	British Ambassador to France 1975–1979	Succeeded by Sir Reginald Hibbert
Preceded by Peter Jay	British Ambassador to the United States 1979–1982	Succeeded by Sir Oliver Wright
Political offices
Preceded by The Marquess of Lothian	Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1985–1990	Succeeded by John Baring