James Craig (diplomat)
Sir (Albert) James Macqueen Craig GCMG (13 July 1924 – 26 September 2017[1]) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Syria and Saudi Arabia, also an academic and writer.
Career
Craig was born in
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1971–75. During this time, in November 1974 a British Airways aircraft was hijacked and flown to Tunis, where Craig was sent to deal with the crisis. The hijackers murdered a German banker but the remaining passengers and crew were released.
Craig was deputy
High Commissioner at Kuala Lumpur 1975–76, ambassador to Syria 1976–79[2] and ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1979–84[3] during which he had to rebuild relations with the Saudis were offended by the 1980 TV drama-documentary Death of a Princess
.
He then retired from the Diplomatic Service and was visiting professor in Arabic and lecturer at Pembroke College, Oxford, 1985–1991. Among other activities he was Director General of the Middle East Association 1985–93 and President 1993–2011. He also served as a director of Christopher Mayhew’s Middle East International.
Craig was appointed
KCMG in the 1981 New Year Honours[5] and promoted to GCMG in the 1984 New Year Honours.[6] After his retirement he was made an Officer of the Order of St John.[7]
Publications
- Shemlan: A History of the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Macmillan, 1998
- CRAIG, Sir (Albert) James (Macqueen), Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, 2017 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2016)
- Craig, Sir Albert James Macqueen, b 1924, Knight, diplomat, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge
- "Sir James Craig: Diplomat whose grasp of Arab issues eased tensions with Saudi Arabia [obituary]". The Independent. London. 19 October 2017.
References
- ^ "Craig". Telegraph announcements. 4 November 2017.
- ^ "No. 47059". The London Gazette. 5 November 1976. p. 14951.
- ^ "No. 48055". The London Gazette. 3 January 1980. p. 64.
- ^ "No. 46444". The London Gazette. 31 December 1974. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 48467". The London Gazette. 30 December 1980. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 49583". The London Gazette. 30 December 1983. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 50023". The London Gazette. 31 January 1985. p. 2.
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