Richard John McMoran Moran Wilson, 2nd Baron Moran KCMG (born 22 September 1924), known as John Wilson, is a British soldier and diplomat. He is one of the ninety elected hereditary peers in the House of Lords, remaining after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. In 1977, he succeeded to his father's barony.
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The son of the 1st Baron Moran and Dorothy Dufton, he was educated at Eton College in Berkshire and King's College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history. Wilson served in the Royal Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1945. He was first Ordinary Seaman on HMS Belfast, later Sub-Lieutenant on Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB 684) and Destroyer HMS Oribi.[1]
In 1945, Wilson entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and held various minor offices in Ankara, Tel Aviv, Rio de Janeiro, Washington, D.C. and South Africa. From 1968 to 1973, he was Head of West African Department in the Foreign Office and from 1970 to 1973 concurrently non-resident British Ambassador to Chad. Wilson was British Ambassador to Hungary between 1973 and 1976 and British Ambassador to Portugal between 1976 and 1981. In 1981, he became High Commissioner to Canada and held this post until 1984. On leaving his post of High Commissioner to Canada in 1984, Moran penned a frank final telegram to the British Foreign Minister in which he was critical of Canadian politicians and public policies.[1] The telegram became public in October 2009 after a BBC columnist, Matthew Parris, made a freedom of information request for the foreign office's valedictory despatches.[2][3]
From 1990 to 1995, Wilson was chair of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, from 1988 to 1995 vice-chairman of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and from 1989 to 1994 chairman of the National Rivers Authority Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee for the Welsh Region. For RSPB, he was council member between 1992 and 1994 and vice-president between 1996 and 1997. Since 1994, he is president of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust, since 1997 chair of the Fisheries Policy and Legislation Working Group named the Moran Committee. In 1997 he became also chair of the Salmon and Trout Association, which he was until 2000, when he was made instead its executive vice-president. Having been president of the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association from 1988 to 1995, he again became president in 2000.
In 1973, Wilson wrote a biography about Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, for which he received the Whitbread Award for Biography. Having been made a Commander of Order of St Michael and St George in 1970, he was raised to a Knight Commander in 1981. In 1978, he received also the Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Infante D. Henrique.
Since 1948, he has been married to Shirley Rowntree Harris. They have two sons and a daughter.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Derek Dodson |
British Ambassador to Hungary 1973–1976 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Parsons |
| Preceded by Sir Nigel Trench |
British Ambassador to Portugal 1976–1981 |
Succeeded by Sir Hugh Campbell Byatt |
| Preceded by John Ford |
High Commissioner to Canada 1981–1984 |
Succeeded by Sir Derek Day |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Charles Wilson |
Baron Moran 1977–present |
Incumbent |