John Balfour (diplomat) explained

Sir John Balfour GCMG, GBE (1894–1983) was a British diplomat.

Family

Sir John was the son of the Conservative politician Charles Balfour, and the maternal grandson of the 5th Earl of Antrim. In 1933, he married Frances van Millingen, daughter of Professor Alexander van Millingen of Robert College, Constantinople, although their marriage remained childless.

World War 1

Balfour was an Oxford student studying German in the city of Freiberg when World War I began. He spent the entire war in Ruhleben internment camp.^[1]

Diplomatic career

During his service with the Foreign Office, Balfour was posted to Portugal, Spain (1951–1954),^[2] Argentina, Moscow, and Washington DC.^[3] A hispanophile, Balfour was an ardent opponent of Francisco Franco's regime.^[3]

In 1983, Balfour published his memoirs, Not Too Correct an Aureole: Recollections of a Diplomat.

References

1. Weintraub, Stanley. "A Stillness Heard Round the World". Truman Talley Books, 1985, p. 346
2. Richard Ford. A hand-book for travellers in Spain and readers at home. University of California, 1966. Page xi
3. Jill Edwards. Anglo-American relations and the Franco question, 1945-1955. . Page 174