Denis Arthur Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of HarrowGCMGOBE (7 November 1913 – 8 November 2000) was the British Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 1973; a respected expert on the US, Europe and the Soviet Union, he was actively involved in setting postwar Britain's role in the world in a new direction, away from its imperial past and a compliant involvement with the United States towards a more active engagement in Europe. He served under three prime ministers, Harold Wilson, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath. Noted for his poor treatment of the Chagos Islanders in August 1966, along with Sir Paul Gore-Booth, forcibly removed some 2,000 natives from their land referring to them as "some Tarzans or Men Fridays"Paradise cleansed
In the event, he was liked and respected by colleagues, his managerial skills were valued and his advice was highly regarded by ministers.[citation needed] Created a life peer in 1974, he sat as a crossbencher.
This notorious cable was sent from the UK mission to the UN to the Colonial Office head Denis Greenhill. He responded, by hand, as follows, "Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius etc. When this has been done I agree we must be very tough and a submission is being done accordingly." English: "Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius etc. When this has been done I agree we must be very tough and a submission is being done accordingly. "
In the Order of St Michael & St George he was appointed a Companion (CMG) in 1960,[4] knighted as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1967,[5] and promoted to Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1972.[6]
On 31 January 1974 he was created a Life Peer as Baron Greenhill of Harrow, of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[7]
Coat of arms of Denis Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow
Crest
A Demi-Griffin Gules semée of Mullets Or holding between the claws a Mullet also Or
Escutcheon
Vert two Barrulets Ermine in chief a Lion passant Or a Bordure Argent
Supporters
On either side a Griffin Gules semée of Mullets Or langued and armed Azure
Interview with Denis Greenhill, Lord Greenhill of Harrow & transcript, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996
Obituary appearing in The Guardian
Obituary appearing in The Telegraph
Peerage entry
October 27, 2023
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This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Denis Arthur Greenhill Baron Greenhill of Harrow GCMG OBE 7 November 1913 8 November 2000 was the British Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 1973 a respected expert on the US Europe and the Soviet Union he was actively involved in setting postwar Britain s role in the world in a new direction away from its imperial past and a compliant involvement with the United States towards a more active engagement in Europe He served under three prime ministers Harold Wilson Sir Alec Douglas Home and Edward Heath Noted for his poor treatment of the Chagos Islanders in August 1966 along with Sir Paul Gore Booth forcibly removed some 2 000 natives from their land referring to them as some Tarzans or Men Fridays Paradise cleansedPortrait by Walter Bird 1967 Contents 1 Education and war record 2 Career 3 Honours and arms 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksEducation and war record editGreenhill was educated at Bishop s Stortford College and Christ Church Oxford From 1935 to 1939 he worked for the London and North Eastern Railway During World War II he served in the Middle East Far East India and North Africa He was promoted colonel in the Royal Engineers and was mentioned in dispatches twice 1 2 His wife Angela nee McCulloch whom he married in Cairo in 1941 died in 2013 Career editThis section includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message He joined the Foreign Office in 1946 with the support of the Labour Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin who thought him an expert on oil transportation citation needed He served as counsellor and later minister at the British Embassy in Washington at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 and the assassination of U S President John F Kennedy 1963 As Britain s special envoy to Rhodesia 1972 1976 he sought unsuccessfully to end Rhodesia s Unilateral Declaration of Independence He was Permanent Under Secretary PUS at the time of the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities in 1973 His appointment as PUS had been regarded with scepticism by older hands who in the Whitehall establishment citation needed In the event he was liked and respected by colleagues his managerial skills were valued and his advice was highly regarded by ministers citation needed Created a life peer in 1974 he sat as a crossbencher This notorious cable was sent from the UK mission to the UN to the Colonial Office head Denis Greenhill He responded by hand as follows Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius etc When this has been done I agree we must be very tough and a submission is being done accordingly English Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius etc When this has been done I agree we must be very tough and a submission is being done accordingly His later years included roles as governor of the BBC and as a director of BAT Industries Hawker Siddeley Group Wellcome Foundation Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance S G Warburg and Leyland International Honours and arms editIn the 1942 New Year s Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE 3 In the Order of St Michael amp St George he was appointed a Companion CMG in 1960 4 knighted as a Knight Commander KCMG in 1967 5 and promoted to Knight Grand Cross GCMG in 1972 6 On 31 January 1974 he was created a Life Peer as Baron Greenhill of Harrow of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 7 Coat of arms of Denis Greenhill Baron Greenhill of Harrow nbsp nbsp Crest A Demi Griffin Gules semee of Mullets Or holding between the claws a Mullet also Or Escutcheon Vert two Barrulets Ermine in chief a Lion passant Or a Bordure Argent Supporters On either side a Griffin Gules semee of Mullets Or langued and armed Azure Motto Honos Alit Artes 8 Bibliography editD Greenhill More By Accident New York 1992 References edit No 35209 The London Gazette Supplement 4 July 1941 p 3886 No 36327 The London Gazette Supplement 11 January 1944 p 262 No 35396 The London Gazette Supplement 30 December 1941 p 7327 No 41909 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1960 p 5 No 44326 The London Gazette Supplement 10 June 1967 p 6272 No 45554 The London Gazette Supplement 1 January 1972 p 4 No 46201 The London Gazette 5 February 1974 p 1555 Life Peerages G External links editInterview with Denis Greenhill Lord Greenhill of Harrow amp transcript British Diplomatic Oral History Programme Churchill College Cambridge 1996 FCO s Brief History of the Office of Permanent Under Secretary of State and its Holders Obituary appearing in The Guardian Obituary appearing in The Telegraph Peerage entry Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Denis Greenhill Baron Greenhill of Harrow amp oldid 1176887618, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
