Adam Thomson (diplomat) explained

Sir Adam Thomson
Office:Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to NATO
Term Start:2014
Term End:2016
Predecessor:Dame Mariot Leslie
Successor:Paul Johnston (acting)
Primeminister:David Cameron
Office1:British High Commissioner to Pakistan
Term Start1:2010
Term End1:2014
Predecessor1:Robert Brinkley
Successor1:Philip Barton
Primeminister1:David Cameron
Monarch1:Elizabeth II
Spouse:Fariba Shirazi
Children:3

Sir Adam McClure Thomson (born 1 July 1955) is a former British diplomat who is director of the European Leadership Network,[1] a pan-European think tank based in London. He served as Permanent Representative to NATO between 2014 and 2016.

Education

Adam McClure Thomson was educated at King's College School, Cambridge, Westminster School, Trinity College, Cambridge and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[2]

Career

He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1978 and served in Moscow, Brussels, Washington, D.C. and New Delhi as well as at the FCO in London. He was deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, with the rank of Ambassador, 2002–06; Director South Asia & Afghanistan at the FCO 2006–09 and High Commissioner to Pakistan 2010–14 before being appointed Permanent Representative to NATO in 2014.[3] [4]

While in Pakistan, Thomson caused some controversy when he said that the country's government had failed to deliver on reform and called for a "radical change".[5]

Honours and accolades

Thomson was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2009, and knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 2014 New Year Honours. He has been a member of the Dean's Alumni Leadership Council at Harvard Kennedy School.[6]

Family

Thomson is the eldest son of Sir John Thomson, also a diplomat. He is the grandson of Sir George Paget Thomson and the great-grandson of Sir J. J. Thomson, both winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics. He is married to Fariba Shirazi, a native of Iran who studied architecture in Tehran and art history in London, and has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[7] They have a son and two daughters.

External links

Mr & Mrs Thomson interviewed by Moeed Pirzada on Waqt News

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sir Adam Thomson KCMG . European Leadership Network.
  2. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/publications/hks-magazine/archives/winter-2013/classnotes Harvard Kennedy School – Classnotes
  3. http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U37581 THOMSON, Adam McClure
  4. http://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-uk-permanent-representative-to-nato Change of UK Permanent Representative to NATO
  5. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9827193/UK-envoy-provokes-cries-of-colonialism-with-blunt-call-for-change-in-Pakistan.html UK envoy provokes cries of colonialism with blunt call for change in Pakistan
  6. Web site: Adam Thomson hosts first-ever UN alumni reception . 2014-05-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050208013634/http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/dalc/index.php?itemid=17 . 8 February 2005 . dmy ., DALC News, Harvard Kennedy School, 18 March 2004
  7. News: ASG holds 'The Art of Extremes' . https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221427/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-147736-ASG-holds-The-Art-of-Extremes . 12 May 2014 . The News . Islamabad . 11 December 2012.