Nicholas Henderson
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Sir Nicholas Henderson British Ambassador to Poland | |
---|---|
In office 1969–1972 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson Edward Heath |
Preceded by | Thomas Brimelow |
Succeeded by | Frank Brenchley |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 April 1919 |
Died | 16 March 2009 | (aged 89)
Nationality | British |
Education | Stowe School |
Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford |
Sir John Nicholas Henderson,
Life and career
Henderson was born in London, the only son and second of three children of
Nicholas was educated at
He joined the British
Valedictory dispatch and Ambassadorship to the United States
Upon retiring (as he thought) from the foreign service when relinquishing his post in Paris, he wrote a final dispatch titled "Britain's decline; its causes and consequences". The Economist obtained a copy and printed it in the same year, stating "The despatch does not, needless to say, reach us from him and was presumably written for very limited circulation. But it is so unusually forthright and timely, particularly in its middle and concluding passages on British policy in Europe, under governments of every stripe, as to merit publication virtually in full."[2][3]
A surprise extension to Henderson's career came about because of the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in May of that year. Thatcher invited him to return to service as Ambassador to Washington, where he served until 1982. She had first asked Edward Heath to take up the post, but he had refused the offer. Henderson was enormously popular in Washington, and he and his wife Mary formed a close personal friendship with President Ronald Reagan at a crucial time in the latter's presidency, oiling the special friendship which developed between Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. In particular, he was successful in putting forward the British side of the Falklands War in 1982, and maintaining friendly relations between the nations when that friendship was under some strain.
In retirement, Henderson wrote several books on history, and an account of his career as a diplomat, Mandarin. He held directorships of several major British companies, including the
In 1951, Henderson married
He was generally known as "Nicko (sp. "Nico" in Lady Thatcher's memoirs) Henderson" in private life.
Bibliography
- Prince Eugen of Savoy. A Biography Weidenfeld & Nicolson, (1964)
- The Birth of N.A.T.O., (1982)
- The Private Office, (1984)
- Channels and Tunnels: Reflections on Britain and Abroad, (1987)
- Diplomatic Immunity: Principles, Practices, Problems by Grant V. McClanahan, with a foreword by Sir Nicholas Henderson (1989)
- Mandarin: The Diaries of an Ambassador 1969-1982, (1994)
- Old Friends and Other Instances, (2000)
- The Private Office Revisited, (2001)
In popular culture
Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series, was a friend of Henderson, and gave his name to the character "Dikko" Henderson in his final completed Bond novel, You Only Live Twice.
Henderson was portrayed by Jeremy Clyde in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial The Falklands Play.
Diplomatic posts and offices
References
- ^ "The Times obituary (printed version)". The Times. 17 March 2009.
- ^ "Britain's decline; its causes and consequences" The Economist 2 June 1979
- ISBN 978-0-670-91929-1.
- ^ HENDERSON, Sir (John) Nicholas, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2012
- ^ Xenia, the Greek spirit personified, The Telegraph, London, 17 February 2004
External links
- The Daily Telegraph obituary
- The Guardian obituary
- The Independent obituary
- The Times obituary
- Appearance on Desert Island Discs (2 June 1989)
- Interview with Sir John Nicholas Henderson & transcript, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1998