John Boyd (diplomat): Difference between revisions

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Boyd was born on 17 January 1936 to James Dixon Boyd and Amélie ({{nee}} Lowenthal).<ref name="WWW">{{cite web |title=Boyd, Sir John (Dixon Iklé), (17 Jan. 1936–18 Oct. 2019), HM Diplomatic Service, retired; Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge, since 2006 (Master, 1996–2006); Chairman, Asia House, 2010–17 (Hon. President, since 2018; Member, International Advisory Council, 2001–10) |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U8375 |website=[[Who Was Who]] |access-date=5 March 2021 |language=en |date=1 December 2020}}</ref> His father would go on to be became Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge.<ref name="Obit Times">{{cite news |title=Sir John Boyd obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sir-john-boyd-obituary-8jn0xxfjz |access-date=5 March 2021 |work=The Times |date=25 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref> He was educated at [[Westminster School]], an all-boys [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] in [[central London]].<ref name="WWW" /> He attended [[Clare College, Cambridge]], where he initially read medicine before moving to modern languages.<ref name="obit Tele">{{cite news |title=Sir John Boyd, diplomat whose command of the Chinese language proved invaluable during the Cultural Revolution – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/10/27/sir-john-boyd-diplomat-whose-command-chinese-language-proved/ |access-date=5 March 2021 |work=The Telegraph |date=27 October 2019}}</ref> He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] (BA) degree.<ref name="WWW" /> He was then awarded a [[postgraduate]] scholarship to study in the United States, and attended [[Yale University]] to undertake foreign area studies and to study [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].<ref name="BDOHP">{{cite web |last1=McBain |first1=Malcolm |title=BDOHP Biographical Details and Interview Index: John (Dixon Iklé) BOYD, KCMG 1992 (CMG 1985) |url=https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/Boyd_NaH9fKH.pdf |website=British Diplomatic Oral History Programme |publisher=Churchil College, Cambridge |date=17 February 1999}}</ref> He graduated with a [[Master of Arts]] (MA) degree in 1962.<ref name="WWW" /><ref name="Yale">{{cite web |title=Sir John Dixon Boyd |url=https://yale62.org/sir-john-boyd/ |website=Yale Class of 1962 |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

Boyd was a member of the [[Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service]] from 1962 to 1996.<ref name="BDOHP" /> He served twice in Hong Kong (on the second occasion as Political Adviser to the [[Governor of Hong Kong|Governor]]) and Beijing twice. Other postings included Bonn, Washington, and the UK Mission to the UN. At home he served as Deputy Under-Secretary for Defence and subsequently Chief Clerk of the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|FCO]] before his posting to Japan. His tenure in Tokyo saw a marked expansion in bilateral exchanges on a wide front. He holds the

|publisher=Crown Office |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/john-boyd/ |title=Churchill College personal listing |access-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918160803/https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/john-boyd/ |archive-date=18 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was Chairman of the [[List of trustees of the British Museum|Board of Trustees]] of the [[British Museum]] from 2002 to 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=New chairman for British Museum|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1344435.stm|accessdate=23 October 2019|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=22 May 2001}}</ref>

== See also ==