David Blatherwick (diplomat)

Sir David Elliott Spiby Blatherwick, KCMG, OBE (born 13 July 1941)^[1] is a retired British diplomat.

Educated at Lincoln School and Wadham College, Oxford, he joined the Foreign Office in 1964. His diplomatic postings were in Kuwait, New York City, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt. He served as ambassador to Ireland from 1991 to 1995, and ambassador to Egypt from 1995 to 1999. He retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1999. His vast knowledge of Irish affairs led to his appointment in 2003 as the British Joint Chairman of Anglo-Irish Encounter, a non-governmental organisation established in 1983 which is mainly concerned with cultural and social issues between the two countries.^[2]

On 15 September 2010, Blatherwick, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.^[3]

References

^ Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1995) (snippet view). The Diplomatic Service List (30th ed.). H.M.S.O. p. 122. ISBN 9780115917509. http://books.google.com/books?id=3zl5AAAAIAAJ&q=Blatherwick#search_anchor.
^ "Sir David Blatherwick KCMG OBE British Chairman of Encounter". Official site of the Prime Minister’s Office. 28 January 2003. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page2522. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
^ "Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion". The Guardian (London). 15 September 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Nicholas Fenn	British Ambassador to Ireland 1991–1995	Succeeded by Veronica Sutherland
Preceded by Christopher William Long	British Ambassador to Egypt 1995–1999	Succeeded by Graham Boyce

Persondata
Name	Blatherwick, David Elliott Spiby, Sir
Alternative names
Short description	Retired British diplomat
Date of birth	13 July 1941
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death