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Alan Urwick

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(Redirected from Sir Alan Urwick) British diplomat and Serjeant-at-Arms

SirAlan Bedford UrwickKCVO CMG KStJ
Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons
In office
1989–1995
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Victor Le Fanu
Succeeded bySir Peter Jennings
British High Commissioner to Canada
In office
1987–1989
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Derek Day
Succeeded byBrian Fall
British Ambassador to Egypt
In office
1985–1987
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Michael Weir
Succeeded bySir James Adams
British Ambassador to Jordan
In office
1979–1984
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byJohn Moberly
Succeeded bySir John Coles
Personal details
Born(1930-05-02)2 May 1930
London, United Kingdom
Died8 December 2016(2016-12-08) (aged 85–86)
Slaugham, West Sussex
Alma materNew College, Oxford University

Sir Alan Bedford Urwick KCVO CMG KStJ (2 May 1930 – 8 December 2016) was a British diplomat, who served as Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons from 1989 to 1995.

Early life

Alan Bedford Urwick was born on 2 May 1930, in London. He was the younger of the two children, of Lt. Col. Lyndall Fownes Urwick OBE MC and Joan Wilhelmina Saunders (née Bedford).

Lyndall F. Urwick was one of the British pioneers of scientific management prior to the Second World War. In 1934, he set up his own management consultancy practice, Urwick, Orr & Partners.

Alan Urwick was educated at Dragon School in Oxford, and then at Rugby School in Warwickshire.

Alan Urwick graduated from New College, Oxford, obtaining a first in Modern History in 1952.

Career

MI6

Foreign Office

Urwick joined the British diplomatic service in 1952 and undertook tours of duty in Western Europe, the Middle East, Moscow, and Washington, D.C. He served as the United Kingdom's ambassador to Jordan (1979–1984) and to Egypt (1985–1987), and was the British High Commissioner in Canada (1987–1989). He left the diplomatic service in 1989.

Serjeant-at-Arms

He then served as Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons until his retirement in 1995.

Retirement and death

In retirement, Urwick served as the Chairman of the Anglo-Jordanian Society from 1997 to 2001. He arranged for a memorial service to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral following the death of King Hussein of Jordan in 1999.

Urwick died on 8 December 2016, at the age of 86, at his home in Slaugham, West Sussex.

A memorial service was held at St. Margaret's Church in Westminster Abbey on 19 October 2017.

Personal life

Urwick married Marta Montagne, the daughter of the Peruvian ambassador to Lebanon, in 1960 in Beirut. They had three sons together, Christopher, Richard, and Michael. Urwick spoke fluent French, German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. Urwick was a member of the Garrick Club and an honorary member of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants.

References

  1. ^ "Urwick, Sir Alan (Bedford)". Who's Who. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38393. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Sir Alan Urwick, diplomat and reforming Serjeant at Arms – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Sir Alan Urwick". The Times. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  4. ^ "The Urwick Prize". Worshipful Company of Management Consultants. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. "Sir Alan Bedford Urwick". Burke's Peerage. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Sir Alan Urwick". Vol 263 cc1672-4. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 19 July 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  7. "Previous Ambassadors". UK in Egypt: The official website for the British Embassy in Egypt. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  8. "Previous High Commissioners". UK in Canada: The official website for the British High Commission in Canada. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  9. Tony Newton, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (19 July 1995). "Sir Alan Urwick". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 263. House of Commons. col. 1672.
  10. "URWICK - Deaths Announcements - Telegraph Announcements". The Daily Telegraph Announcements. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. "Court Circular | The Royal Family". The Royal Household. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2021.

Further reading

Diplomatic posts
Preceded byJohn Moberly British Ambassador to Jordan
1979–1984
Succeeded bySir John Coles
Preceded bySir Michael Weir British Ambassador to Egypt
1985–1987
Succeeded bySir James Adams
Preceded bySir Derek Day British High Commissioner to Canada
1987–1989
Succeeded byBrian Fall
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded bySir Victor Le Fanu Serjeant-at-Arms
of the House of Commons

1989–1995
Succeeded bySir Peter Jennings


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