John Gray (diplomat)

Sir John Walton David Gray

In 1987, as the British ambassador to Beirut, Gray unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade Terry Waite from re-entering Beirut without proper protection, with the result that Waite was kidnapped and held for nearly five years.

Early life

John Gray was born in

• 1964 – Bahrain
• 1967 –
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  , London
• 1970 – Geneva
• 1974 – Sofia
• 1977 (approx) Jedda
• 1982 -
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  , London (Head of Maritime, Aviation and Environment Department)
• 1985 – Beirut (Ambassador)
• 1988 –
  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  )
• 1992–1996 Belgium (Ambassador)

Later career

Gray retired from the Foreign Office in 1996 and on returning to Wales became involved in public and community affairs, including:

• A member of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
• A trustee of the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
• Appointment as
  Honorary Consul
  of Belgium in Cardiff.
• Vice-president of
  Crawshays Welsh Rugby Football Club
• Participation in the work of the Institute of Welsh Affairs
• Chairman, Welsh Centre for International Affairs at Cardiff's Temple of Peace.
• Governor, University of Glamorgan
• Toastmasters International, After Dinner Speaker of the Year - 1993

Sources

• "Obituary - Sir John Gray, The Times, 2 October 2003"
• "Obituary - Sir John Gray, The Independent, 8 September 2003"^{[dead link]}