George Buchanan (diplomat)
British Ambassador to The Kingdom of Italy | |
|---|---|
| In office 1919–1921 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Rennell Rodd |
| Succeeded by | Sir Ronald Graham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George William Buchanan 25 November 1854 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 20 December 1924 (aged 70) London, England, United Kingdom |
Sir George William Buchanan,
Diplomatic career
Buchanan entered diplomatic service in 1876 and served as Second Secretary in
Invested with the Knight's Grand Cross of Royal Victorian Order in 1909, he was next sworn to the Privy Council. In 1910, Buchanan was appointed as the British Ambassador to Russia. He kept abreast of the political developments in Russia and met some of the leading liberal reformists in the country.When the Dardanelles were guaranteed by Germany to the Ottoman Empire, Italy sent two secret documents via the British diplomatic corps from Sir Michael Rodd to Buchanan at St Petersburg. They were the evidence that Russia needed to persuade Italy to support its Serbian policy in the Balkans. On 4 March 1915, Imperiali, the Italian envoy to London, presented the documents to Sir Edward Grey on the 16 February authority from Italian Foreign Minister Sonnino. France attached great importance to Italy's decision to join the Allies. Buchanan brought Count Sazonov to the negotiating table.
It has been suggested that to have been secretly encouraged by the then Liberal government in London:
The British Ambassador George Buchanan was only too aware of the court's 'pro-German sympathies'. He complained to the Duma President, M.V.
Rodzianko, in November 1916 that he found it difficult to get an audience at court, and expressed his view 'that Germany is using Alexandra Fedorovna to set the Tsar against the Allies'. Elsewhere, however, Buchanan stated his view that the Empress was 'the unwitting instrument of Germany'.[3]
Buchanan had developed a strong bond with Tsar
Although the Tsar was touched by the Ambassador's devotion, he allowed his wife's malevolent attitudes to outweigh the sensible advice that he had been given. After the collapse of the autocracy (see
Buchanan was disappointed that the fledgling democracy offered by the Provisional Government was strangled by the Bolshevik coup.
In early December 1918, Buchanan fell ill and for the good of his health agreed that it was best for him to leave Russia. His family left St Petersburg on 26 December 1918 and arrived back in Leith, in Scotland, on 17 January 1919.[7] His health soon collapsed, which forced him to spend time recovering in Cornwall.
After his recovery, he was disappointed that after all of his years of service, he was not given a peerage and offered only a two-year ambassadorship in Rome. He accepted the post and served as ambassador to the Kingdom of Italy from 1919 to 1921. While in Italy his wife was found to have terminal cancer and died in April 1921, soon after the family's return to England.[8]
Buchanan's autobiography, My Mission to Russia and Other Diplomatic Memories, was published in 1923. It is believed that he had to leave out some of what he knew for fear of losing his pension. He died in 1924.
Honours
British decorations
- Order of the Bath
- CB: Companion of the Order of the Bath (civil division) – announced in the 1900 New Year Honours honours list on 1 January 1900,[9] gazetted on 16 January 1900,[10] and invested by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on 1 March 1900.[11] – for services on the Venezuelan Boundary Commission
- KCB: Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
- GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- Order of St Michael and St George
- GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Royal Victorian Order
- CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order - 1900
- GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Family
Sir George married on 25 February 1885 Lady Georgiana Meriel Bathurst (1863–1922), daughter of Allen Bathurst, 6th Earl Bathurst by the Hon. Meriel Warren (1839–1872), daughter of George Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley.
Their only child, daughter Meriel Buchanan (1886–1959). wrote several perceptive books about the Russian October Revolution, which she witnessed, and key figures she had personally known.
Publications
- Buchanan, George (1923). My mission to Russia and other diplomatic memories. London, New York: Cassell. OL 6656274M.
Notes
- ^ "No. 27367". The London Gazette. 22 October 1901. p. 6846.
- ^ "No. 28255". The London Gazette. 28 May 1909. p. 4060.
- ^ Interpreting the Russian Revolution The Language and Symbols of 1917 (1999) By Orlando Figes and Boris Kolonitskii
- ^ G Buchanan, 12 January 1917 – page 49, Vol. II autobiography
- ^ http://spartacus-educational.com/RUSbuchanan.htm "However, Buchanan feared the growing support for the Bolsheviks: The Bolsheviks, who form a..."
- ^ F.O 371/2995, Buchanan to Foreign Office, 13 March 1917; Hughes, p.85-90.
- ^ Rappaport. Page 324.
- ^ Rappaport. Page 324.
- ^ "New Year Honours". The Times. No. 36027. London. 1 January 1900. p. 9.
- ^ "No. 27154". The London Gazette. 16 January 1900. p. 285.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36079. London. 2 March 1900. p. 6.
- ^ Karl, his son Viktor, or their studio
References
- BUCHANAN, Rt Hon. Sir George (William), Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2015 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
- F.H. Hinsley (ed.), British Foreign Policy under Sir Edward Grey Cambridge, 1977
- Michael Hughes, Inside the Enigma: British Officials in Russia 1900-1939 London: Hambledon Press, 1997
- Rappaport, Helen (2016). Caught in the Revolution. London: Windmill Books. ISBN 978-0-09-959242-6.
- Stephen White, Britain and the Bolshevik Revolution: A Study in the politics of Diplomacy 1920-1924 London, 1980
See also
- Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
- Alexander Palace
- Nicholas II of Russia
External links
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p7980.htm#i79797
- Newspaper clippings about George Buchanan in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
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