Alan Ewen Donald

Sir Alan Ewen Donald (KCMG 1988, CMG 1979) (5 May 1931 - ) is a career British diplomat and former British Ambassador.

Background

He was born on 5 May 1931; 2nd son of Robert Thomson Donald and Louise Turner. He married in 1958 to Janet Hilary Therese Blood. They have four sons.

He attended Aberdeen Grammar School and Fettes College, Edinburgh, and then Trinity Hall, Cambridge. BA, LLM

Career

• HM Forces, RA (L Battery, 2nd Regt RHA), 1949–50.
• Joined HM Foreign Service, 1954: Third Sec., Peking, 1955–57.
• FO, 1958–61: Private Sec. to Parly Under-Sec., FO, 1959–61.
• Second, later First Sec., UK Delegation to NATO, Paris, 1961–64.
• First Sec., Peking, 1964–66.
• Personnel Dept, Diplomatic Service Admin Office, later FCO, 1967–71.
• Counsellor (Commercial), Athens, 1971–73.
• Political Advr to Governor of Hong Kong, 1974–77.
• Ambassador to: Republics of Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda, 1977–80.
• People’s Republic of the Congo, 1978–80.
• Asst Under-Sec. of State (Asia and the Pacific), FCO, 1980–84.
• Ambassador to: Republic of Indonesia, 1984–88.
• People’s Republic of China, 1988–91. Director: China Fund Inc. (NY), 1992–2003.
• HSBC China Fund Ltd, 1994–2004;
• J. P. Morgan Fleming Asian Investment Trust Ltd (formerly Fleming Asian Investment Trust), 1997–2001 (Fleming Far Eastern Investment Trust, 1991–97). Pres., China Assoc., 2003–08. Hon. LLD Aberdeen, 1991.

Sources

• ‘DONALD, Sir Alan (Ewen)’, Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 2009.