Malcolm Robertson (diplomat)

Sir Malcolm Arnold Robertson GCMG KBE PC (2 September 1877 – 23 April 1951) was a British diplomat and politician.[1] He was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary in Argentina in 1925, and became Ambassador to Argentina from 1927 to 1929.[2]

The Right Honourable
Sir Malcolm Robertson
GCMG KBE
Sir Malcolm Robertson
United Kingdom Ambassador to Argentina
In office
1925–1929
Preceded byBeilby Alston
Succeeded byRonald Macleay
Member of Parliament
for Mitcham
In office
19 August 1940 – 5 July 1945
Preceded byRichard James Meller
Succeeded byTom Braddock
Personal details
Born(1877-09-02)2 September 1877
Died23 April 1951(1951-04-23) (aged 73)
Political partyConservative
SpouseGladys Ingalls
ChildrenMajor Donald Struan Robertson (son)
OccupationDiplomat, politician, businessman

Biography

Robertson entered the Civil Service after passing competitive examinations in December 1898,[3] being appointed a clerk on the establishment of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service on 3 January 1899.[4] He rose steadily through the ranks, being appointed Acting Third Secretary on 1 January 1903,[5] Second Secretary on 23 November 1905,[6] and First Secretary on 23 November 1912.[7] Robertson served as chargé d'affaires at Rio de Janeiro, and on 3 June 1915 was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.[8]

In 1917 he was first secretary of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., where in March his engagement to Gladys Ingalls, daughter of railroad magnate Melville E. Ingalls, was announced.[9] Their only child, Donald Struan Robertson, served in the Scots Guards, rising to the rank of major.[10]

On 15 September 1919 Robertson was appointed a Counsellor of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service,[11] and on 1 December 1921 he was appointed Agent and Consul-General at Tangier,[12] where he took a leading part in negotiating the Tangier Protocol.[13] On 3 June 1924 Robertson, now Minister at Tangier, was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[14] On 18 September 1925 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic, and also Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Paraguay.[15] On 26 May 1927 he became a Privy Councillor,[16] and on 9 July 1927 was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic.[17]

After retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 1930, he became Chairman of Spillers from 1930 to 1947. He was elected as Conservative MP for Mitcham in the by-election of August 1940,[18] but lost his seat in the 1945 general election.[1][19] Robertson also served as Chairman of the British Council from 1941 to 1945. In that capacity, in 1942 Robertson and R. A. Butler, President of the Board of Education, invited the ministers of education of the Allied countries to form a Conference of Allied Ministers of Education, which after the war was expanded and became the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[20]

References
  1. "Robertson, Rt Hon. Sir Malcolm Arnold". Who Was Who. A & C Black. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  2. Mackie, Colin. "British Ambassadors and High Commissioners 1880-2010" (PDF). Gulabin.com. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  3. "No. 27035". The London Gazette. 23 December 1898. p. 8266.
  4. "No. 27039". The London Gazette. 3 January 1899. p. 16.
  5. "No. 27518". The London Gazette. 23 January 1903. p. 465.
  6. "No. 27884". The London Gazette. 9 February 1906. p. 949.
  7. "No. 28666". The London Gazette. 26 November 1912. p. 8947.
  8. "No. 29180". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1915. p. 5329.
  9. "Engagement announced". The Washington Times. 2 March 1917. p. 9. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  10. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 2 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 1819. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  11. "No. 31685". The London Gazette. 12 December 1919. p. 15476.
  12. "No. 32540". The London Gazette. 6 December 1921. p. 9888.
  13. "Full text of the Tangier Protocol" (PDF). worldstatesmen.org. 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  14. "No. 32941". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1924. p. 4416.
  15. "No. 33124". The London Gazette. 15 January 1926. p. 367.
  16. "No. 33278". The London Gazette. 27 May 1927. p. 3439.
  17. "No. 33296". The London Gazette. 22 July 1927. p. 4716.
  18. "No. 34927". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 August 1940. p. 5087.
  19. "Sir Malcolm Robertson, former MP, Mitcham". TheyWorkForYou. 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  20. Ochs, René; Gimeno, José Blat (1985). "Looking Back: Extract from UNESCO on the Eve of its Fortieth Anniversary" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
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