Brian Barder

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Sir Brian Barder
British Ambassador to Ethiopia
In office
1982–1986
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byRobert Tesh
Succeeded bySir Harold Walker
Personal details
Born(1934-06-20)20 June 1934
Bristol, England
Died19 September 2017(2017-09-19) (aged 83)[citation needed]
Trinity Hospice, London
SpouseJane Maureen Cornwell
ChildrenVirginia, Louise, Owen
Alma materSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
ProfessionDiplomat
Websitehttp://www.barder.com

Sir Brian Leon Barder

KCMG (20 June 1934 – 19 September 2017)[1] was a British diplomat, author, blogger and civil liberties
advocate.

Life and career

Barder was born in

St Catharine's College Boat Club and the Cambridge University Labour Club
(chairman, 1957).

Barder did his

High Commissioner to Australia (1991–94).[2]

He was appointed KCMG in 1992.

In 1958 Barder married Jane Maureen Cornwell. They had two daughters and one son, and two granddaughters. He lived in Earlsfield, London, with his wife.[2]

The Ethiopian famine

Barder was

Ethiopian famine of 1984-85. He played a key role in making possible the deployment of the Royal Air Force to Ethiopia for 14 months to move relief supplies from the ports to remote parts of the country where it was urgently needed. His role in the relief effort is described in The Ethiopian Famine,[3] and A Year in the Death of Africa.[4] In 2009 he took part in a BBC Radio 4 programme which brought together some of the key people involved in the Ethiopian famine including International Red Cross nurse Claire Bertschinger (now Dame Claire); BBC reporter Michael Buerk; Dawit Wolde Giorgis, former head of the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission; and Hugh Goyder, former head of Oxfam's Ethiopia programme.[5]

After retirement

After retirement, Barder served on the Commonwealth Observer Mission, Namibian elections (1994); and as a Chair of Civil Service Selection Boards (1995–96). He was a Know-How Fund Consultant for diplomatic training in East and Central Europe (1996); a member of the Committee of the Speech and Debate Centre of the English-Speaking Union (1996–2009); a member of the Board of Management of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (1996–2003); a founder member of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (1997–2004);[2] and Honorary Visiting Fellow to the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester (2006- ).[6]

Resignation from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission

Barder was appointed to the

Law Lords, that sending people to prison indefinitely and without trial and without even being charged with any offence was a breach of Britain's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. On 16 December 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was indeed incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, but under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998 it remained in force. It has since been replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
.

Blogging and publications

After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Barder wrote a popular blog

Fowler's Modern English Usage.[14]

Barder's book, What Diplomats Do: The Life and Work of Diplomats[15] was published in July 2014. Not a diplomatic memoir, it describes a diplomat's day-to-day life and work through a typical but fictitious diplomatic career. It has been described as "massively authoritative, and original ... a brilliant book" (G R Berridge, Emeritus Prof., Leicester University); "excellent ... I found reading its chapters irresistible, like eating peanuts" (Prof. Alan Henrikson, Tufts University).[16]

Barder wrote and kept a diary during his overseas postings, covering some of his time in the USSR, Ethiopia, Poland and Nigeria. His daughter Louise edited and published the diary in June 2019, with the title Brian Barder's Diplomatic Diary.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Brian BARDER Obituary (2017) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "BARDER, Sir Brian (Leon)". Who's Who 2010. A & C Black. December 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. Ethiopian famine of 1984-85
    .
  4. Ethiopian famine of 1984-85
    .
  5. ^ "The Reunion". BBC. London. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Events Listing". University of Leicester Department of Politics and International Relations. University of Leicester. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  7. ^ a b "On SIAC". London Review of Books. London. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. ^ "National insecurity". The Guardian. London. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. ^ "Ephems of BLB". Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  10. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.00396. Archived from the original
    on 5 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Rieff on Ethiopia". 3 July 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. doi:10.1163/187119110X511653
    .
  13. ISBN 978-1-4039-1536-8
    .
  14. OCLC 56767410
    .
  15. ISBN 978-1-4422-2635-7
    .
  16. ^ "What Diplomats Do". Publisher website. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  17. ISBN 978-1-9440-6629-1
    .

External links
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Robert Tesh
 British Ambassador to Ethiopia
1982–1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sir John Albert Leigh Morgan
 British Ambassador to Poland
1986–1988 		Succeeded by
Sir Stephen Barrett
Preceded by
British High Commissioner to Nigeria

1988–1991 		Succeeded by
Sir Christopher MacRae
Preceded by
British High Commissioner to Australia

1991–1994 		Succeeded by
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