Hugh Stonehewer Bird

Sir Hugh Stonehewer Bird
KCMG OBE
British Ambassador to Iraq
In office
1945–1948
Preceded bySir Kinahan Cornwallis
Succeeded by Sir Henry Mack
British Minister to Saudi Arabia
In office
1940–1943
Preceded bySir Reader Bullard
Succeeded by Stanley Jordan
Personal details
Born13 November 1891
Died7 December 1973 (aged 82)
Children2
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
OccupationDiplomat

Sir Francis Hugh William Stonehewer Bird (13 November 1891 – 7 December 1973) was a British diplomat who served as minister to Saudi Arabia from 1940 to 1943, and ambassador to Iraq from 1945 to 1948.

Early life and education

Stonehewer Bird was born on 13 November 1891, the son of Frank Stonehewer Bird. He was educated at Berkhamsted School and Pembroke College, Cambridge.[1][2][3]

Career

Stonehewer Bird was appointed a student interpreter in the Levant Consular Service in 1913, and a consular assistant in 1915.[4] For the next ten years, he served at Jassy, Bucharest, Belgrade, Mogador, and Rabat where he was promoted to vice-consul.[5] In 1927, he was appointed consul and agent at Jedda before he was transferred to Casablanca in 1930,[6] and then to Rabat in 1936.[1][2][3]

In 1937, he was promoted to consul-general at Addis Ababa, and in 1939, served as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, and head of the Legation at Jedda, a post he held until 1943.[7] After serving two years as consul-general in the French zone of Morocco at Rabat,[8] he was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Iraq in 1945, a post he held until his retirement in 1948.[1][2][3][9]

Personal life and death

Stonehewer Bird married Francoise Laczynski in 1918, and they had a son and a daughter.[1][2][3]

Stonehewer Bird died on 7 December 1973.[1][3]

Honours

Stonehewer Bird was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1939 New Year Honours,[10] and promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1945. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1929 Birthday Honours.[2][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sir Hugh Stonehewer Bird". The Times. 10 December 1973. p. 19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Spink And Sons Ltd., London. The Foreign Office List And Diplomatic And Consular Year Book For 1949. p. 395.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 None (1981). Who Was Who 1981: Vol 7 1971-1980. Internet Archive. New York : St. Martin's Press. p. 762. ISBN 978-0-312-87746-0.
  4. ↑ "No. 28761". The London Gazette. 3 October 1913. p. 6910.
  5. ↑ "No. 14116". The Edinburgh Gazette. 7 April 1925. p. 404.
  6. ↑ "No. 33608". The London Gazette. 23 May 1930. p. 3230.
  7. ↑ "No. 34831". The London Gazette. 16 April 1940. p. 2240.
  8. ↑ "No. 35990". The London Gazette. 23 April 1943. p. 1871.
  9. ↑ "No. 36993". The London Gazette. 20 March 1945. p. 1509.
  10. ↑ "No. 34585". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1939. p. 6.
  11. ↑ "No. 33501". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1929. p. 3677.
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