John Le Rougetel Explained

Sir John Le Rougetel
Honorific-Suffix:KCMG MC
Ambassador From:British
Country:South Africa
Term Start:1951
Term End:1955
Predecessor:Evelyn Baring
Successor:Percivale Liesching
Ambassador From1:British
Country1:Belgium
Term Start1:1950
Term End1:1951
Predecessor1:Sir George Rendel
Successor1:Sir Christopher Warner
Ambassador From2:British
Country2:IranBritish Ambassador to Persia
Term Start2:1946
Term End2:1950
Predecessor2:Sir Reader Bullard
Successor2:Sir Francis Shepherd
Birth Date:19 July 1894
Nationality:British
Occupation:Diplomat
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Branch: British Army
Serviceyears:1915–1920
Unit:Northamptonshire Regiment
Battles:First World War
Awards:Military Cross

Sir John Helier Le Rougetel (19 June 1894 – 3 January 1975[1]) was a British diplomat.

Biography

Le Rougetel was educated at Rossall School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He was commissioned into the Northamptonshire Regiment at the start of the First World War, joining its 3rd Battalion.[2] He was awarded the Military Cross and Bar for his actions during the war, in which he served on the Western Front and was attached to the Machine Gun Corps.[3]

Le Rougtel joined the Foreign Office in 1920, and subsequently served in postings in Vienna, Budapest, Ottawa, Tokyo, Pekin, The Hague, Bucharest, Moscow, Shanghai. He was made a Second Secretary in 1923[4] and a First Secretary in 1930.[5] He was in Shanghai during its occupation by the Japanese and was taken prisoner in 1942, although was later repatriated. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1943.[6] From 1944 to 1946 he was Political Representative in Romania, before receiving his first ambassadorial posting to Tehran in 1946. Le Rougetel later served as British Ambassador to Belgium (1950-1) and as a High Commissioner to South Africa (1951-5). He retired in 1955, having been made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.

Notes and References

  1. News: Sir John Le Rougetel. 9 January 1975. The Times. 59289. 17.
  2. The London Gazette (8 July 1915) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29223/supplement/6688/data.pdf
  3. The London Gazette (16 August 1917) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30234/supplement/8433/data.pdf
  4. The London Gazette (22 June 1923) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32836/page/4346/data.pdf
  5. The London Gazette (14 March 1930) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33588/page/1641/data.pdf
  6. The London Gazette (1 January 1943) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35841/page/6/data.pdf