John Holmes (British diplomat)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sir
John Holmes
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
1997–1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byAlex Allan
Succeeded byJeremy Heywood
Personal details
Born
John Eaton Holmes

(1951-04-29)29 April 1951
Preston
Spouse
Penelope Morris
(m. 1976)
Children3
Education
CVO (1998)
KBE (1999)
GCVO
(2004)

Sir John Eaton Holmes

CMG (born 29 April 1951) is a British former diplomat who is the current Chairman of the Electoral Commission
.

Early life

Holmes was born on 29 April 1951 in

Preston Grammar School and went on to study Greats at Balliol College, Oxford. He was brought up in Penwortham, a middle-class suburb of Preston, where he went to school at Crookings Lane Primary and was in the same class as Howard Mendel, a Natural History Museum entomologist. Holmes played cricket for Lancashire schoolboys and was also a tennis player. He was a member of Penwortham Congregational Tennis Club where he won the junior singles as a teenager.[citation needed] He entered the Welsh Open as a student and was defeated by Buster Mottram.[citation needed] Holmes also played football as a schoolboy, representing Penwortham Hill Rovers junior side.[citation needed] One of the coaches for Penwortham Hill Rovers was Tommy Lawrenson, father of the Liverpool footballer, Mark Lawrenson
who grew up in Blundell Lane, Penwortham, a few hundred yards from Holmes's house at 23 Queensway. Holmes's father was an English teacher at Preston Grammar. His mother was also an educated woman but didn't work full-time. His elder brother David too was a pupil at Preston Grammar.

Career

He entered the

2nd Secretary
.

On returning to the FCO in 1978, he first took up an appointment in the Near East and North Africa Department before becoming Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary in 1982.

In 1984 Holmes was posted to the British Embassy in Paris as

.

He returned to London in 1995, first as Head of the European Union Department in FCO and then as Private Secretary, and subsequently

In February 2008 after eight months of the blocking of the crossings into Gaza by the Israelis, Holmes described the situation of the people of Gaza as "grim and miserable" and pointed out they were living on a tenth of what had been available a year earlier.

In 2012, at the request of the Ministry of Defence, he conducted an Independent Medal Review of post 1945 campaign medals, his findings being accepted by the Government.[2]

Later life

He was director of the Ditchley Foundation from September 2010 to August 2016, succeeding Sir Jeremy Greenstock.[3] He became Chair of the Electoral Commission in January 2017.

Personal life

In 1976 he married Penelope Morris, an author and trustee of Women for Women UK;[4] the couple have three daughters: Sarah, Lucy and Emilie.

Honours

Holmes was awarded the CMG in 1997 in the

GCVO at the conclusion of her state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.[8]

Publications

  • The Politics of Humanity: The Reality of Relief Aid, Head of Zeus, London, 2013.

References

  1. ^ Senior British diplomat named new UN humanitarian chief, United Nations News Service, 3 January 2007
  2. ^ "Sir John Holmes independent medal review, 2014 update". Gov.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. ^ Sir John Holmes announced as new Director of the Ditchley Foundation Archived 8 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, 25 February 2010
  4. ^ "Lady Penelope Holmes". Women for Women. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Page 8912 | Supplement 54850, 1 August 1997 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. ^ The London Gazette, 18 December 1998
  7. ^ "Page 7 | Supplement 55354, 31 December 1998 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Honours and Awards | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2022.

External links

Government offices
Preceded by
Principal Private Secretary
to the Prime Minister

1997–1999
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
British Ambassador to Portugal

1999–2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by British Ambassador to France
2001–2006
Succeeded by
Positions in intergovernmental organisations
Preceded by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
2007–2010
Succeeded by