Sir Alexander John Dickson StirlingKBECMG (20 October 1927 – 16 July 2014) was a British diplomat who was the UK's first ambassador to Bahrain, later ambassador to Iraq, Tunisia and Sudan.
After serving at the Foreign Office 1967–69 Stirling was posted as Political Agent to Bahrain, which had been under British protection since 1860. Bahrain declared independence in 1971 and Stirling became the first British ambassador to Bahrain.[4] He was posted to Beirut again as Counsellor 1972–75, then attended the Royal College of Defence Studies before being appointed Ambassador to Iraq 1977–80,[5]
On 19 June 1980 he survived an assassination attempt: three terrorists burst into the embassy at Baghdad and fired three shots at him, one of which passed across his chest and through the lapel of his jacket.[2] After Iraq, Stirling was ambassador to Tunisia 1981–84 and to Sudan 1984–86.[1]
Stirling then retired from the Diplomatic Service and for 20 years worked with the charity SOS Sahel, as a member of its Council and as Chairman 1993–97.[1]
alexander, stirling, alexander, john, dickson, stirling, october, 1927, july, 2014, british, diplomat, first, ambassador, bahrain, later, ambassador, iraq, tunisia, sudan, contents, career, honours, references, sourcescareer, editstirling, educated, edinburgh,. Sir Alexander John Dickson Stirling KBE CMG 20 October 1927 16 July 2014 was a British diplomat who was the UK s first ambassador to Bahrain later ambassador to Iraq Tunisia and Sudan Contents 1 Career 2 Honours 3 References 4 SourcesCareer editStirling was educated at Edinburgh Academy served with the Royal Air Force in Egypt 1945 48 then read Modern Languages at Lincoln College Oxford 1 2 In 1951 he joined the Foreign Office and was sent to learn Arabic at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies after which he served at Beirut Cairo Baghdad and as consul at Amman 3 He was posted to the British Embassy at Santiago 1965 67 and led the UK Delegation to the fourth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in 1966 1 After serving at the Foreign Office 1967 69 Stirling was posted as Political Agent to Bahrain which had been under British protection since 1860 Bahrain declared independence in 1971 and Stirling became the first British ambassador to Bahrain 4 He was posted to Beirut again as Counsellor 1972 75 then attended the Royal College of Defence Studies before being appointed Ambassador to Iraq 1977 80 5 On 19 June 1980 he survived an assassination attempt three terrorists burst into the embassy at Baghdad and fired three shots at him one of which passed across his chest and through the lapel of his jacket 2 After Iraq Stirling was ambassador to Tunisia 1981 84 and to Sudan 1984 86 1 Stirling then retired from the Diplomatic Service and for 20 years worked with the charity SOS Sahel as a member of its Council and as Chairman 1993 97 1 Honours editStirling was appointed CMG in the New Year Honours of 1976 6 and knighted KBE in the Queen s Birthday Honours of 1981 7 Coat of arms of Alexander Stirling Motto Gang Forward 8 References edit a b c d STIRLING Sir Alexander John Dickson Who Was Who A amp C Black 1920 2015 online edition Oxford University Press 2014 a b Obituary Sir Alec Stirling KBE CMG diplomat The Scotsman Edinburgh 10 September 2014 No 42915 The London Gazette 8 February 1963 p 1190 No 45588 The London Gazette 1 February 1972 p 1282 No 47308 The London Gazette 23 August 1977 p 10881 No 46777 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1976 p 4 No 48639 The London Gazette Supplement 13 June 1981 p 17 Goldsmiths Hall 80 Stirling AM Baz Manning Retrieved 18 December 2020 Sources editSir Alexander Stirling obituary The Telegraph London 1 September 2014 Sir Alexander Stirling obituary The Times London 9 September 2014 Diplomatic posts New title Ambassador to Bahrain1971 1972 Succeeded byRobert Tesh Preceded byJohn Graham Ambassador to Iraq1977 1980 Succeeded byStephen Egerton Preceded byJohn Lambert Ambassador to Tunisia1981 1984 Succeeded bySir James Adams Preceded byRichard Fyjis Walker Ambassador to Sudan1984 1986 Succeeded byJohn Beaven Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexander Stirling amp oldid 1071785888, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
