Brian Barder

Sir Brian Leon Barder KCMG (20 June 1934 – 19 September 2017)[1] was a British diplomat, author, blogger and civil liberties advocate.

Sir

Brian Barder

KCMG
British Ambassador to Ethiopia
In office
1982–1986
Preceded byRobert Tesh
Succeeded bySir Harold Walker
British Ambassador to Poland
In office
1986–1988
Preceded bySir John Albert Leigh Morgan
Succeeded bySir Stephen Barrett
British High Commissioner to Nigeria
In office
1988–1991
Preceded bySir Martin Ewans
Succeeded bySir Christopher MacRae
British High Commissioner to Australia
In office
1991–1994
Preceded bySir John Coles
Succeeded bySir Roger Carrick
Personal details
Born(1934-06-20)20 June 1934
Bristol, United Kingdom
Died19 September 2017(2017-09-19) (aged 83)
Trinity Hospice, London
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Jane Maureen Cornwell
ChildrenVirginia, Louise, Owen
Alma materSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
ProfessionDiplomat
Websitehttp://www.barder.com

Life and career

Barder was born in Bristol, the son of Harry and Vivien Barder.[2] He was educated at Sherborne School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Footlights, the Cambridge University Musical Comedy Club, the St Catharine's College Boat Club and the Cambridge University Labour Club (chairman, 1957).

Barder did his National Service as 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Royal Tank Regiment, in Hong Kong (1952–1954). He joined the Colonial Office in London in 1957 (Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary, 1960–61). He transferred to the Diplomatic Service in 1965. From 1964 to 1968 he was First Secretary, UK Mission to the United Nations, dealing with decolonisation. He returned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London as Assistant Head of West African Department, including dealing with Biafra (1968–71). He became First Secretary and Press Attaché, Moscow (Soviet Union) (1971–73); and Counsellor and Head of Chancery, British High Commission, Canberra (Australia) (1973–77). In 1977-78 he was a course member at the Canadian National Defence College, Kingston, Ontario. In 1978 he returned to London as Head of Central and Southern, later Southern African Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1978–82). He was British Ambassador to Ethiopia (1982–86); Ambassador to Poland (1986–88); High Commissioner to Nigeria and concurrently Ambassador to Bénin (1988–91) and High Commissioner to Australia (1991–94).[2]

He was awarded the KCMG in 1992.

In 1958 Barder married Jane Maureen Cornwell. They had two daughters and one son, and two granddaughters. He lived in Earlsfield, London, with his wife.[2]

The Ethiopian famine

Barder was British Ambassador to Ethiopia during the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85. He played a key role in making possible the deployment of the Royal Air Force to Ethiopia for 14 months to move relief supplies from the ports to remote parts of the country where it was urgently needed. His role in the relief effort is described in The Ethiopian Famine,[3] and A Year in the Death of Africa.[4] In 2009 he took part in a BBC Radio 4 programme which brought together some of the key people involved in the Ethiopian famine including International Red Cross nurse Claire Bertschinger (now Dame Claire); BBC reporter Michael Buerk; Dawit Wolde Giorgis, former head of the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission; and Hugh Goyder, former head of Oxfam's Ethiopia programme.[5]

After retirement

After retirement, Barder served on the Commonwealth Observer Mission, Namibian elections (1994); and as a Chair of Civil Service Selection Boards (1995–96). He was a Know-How Fund Consultant for diplomatic training in East and Central Europe (1996); a member of the Committee of the Speech and Debate Centre of the English-Speaking Union (1996–2009); a member of the Board of Management of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (1996–2003); a founder member of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (1997–2004);[2] and Honorary Visiting Fellow to the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester (2006- ).[6]

Resignation from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission

Barder was appointed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in November 1997, three years after his retirement from the diplomatic service. He resigned in January 2004 when the Government extended the role of SIAC in a way which he believed to be contrary to Britain's international obligations. He set out the reasons for his resignation in the London Review of Books[7] and in The Guardian.[8] The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 made SIAC additionally responsible for hearing appeals by persons indefinitely detained without trial by the Home Secretary on suspicion of being connected with terrorism but who could not be deported because there was no country to which they could safely be sent. Barder took the view, subsequently endorsed by the Law Lords, that sending people to prison indefinitely and without trial and without even being charged with any offence was a breach of Britain's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. On 16 December 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was indeed incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, but under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998 it remained in force. It has since been replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Blogging and publications

After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Barder wrote a popular blog[9] and was a regular contributor to the LabourList website. He had articles and letters published in The Political Quarterly,[10] London Review of Books,[7] Prospect,[11] The Times, The Guardian, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy,[12] and elsewhere. He was Editorial Consultant for A Dictionary of Diplomacy[13] and contributed to the Third Edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage.[14]

Barder's book, What Diplomats Do: The Life and Work of Diplomats[15] was published in July 2014. Not a diplomatic memoir, it describes a diplomat's day-to-day life and work through a typical but fictitious diplomatic career. It has been described as "massively authoritative, and original ... a brilliant book" (G R Berridge, Emeritus Prof., Leicester University); "excellent ... I found reading its chapters irresistible, like eating peanuts" (Prof. Alan Henrikson, Tufts University).[16]

References
  1. Sir Brian Barder
  2. "BARDER, Sir Brian (Leon)". Who's Who 2010. A & C Black. December 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. Jansson, Kurt; Harris, Penrose (1990). The Ethiopian Famine (2nd ed.). London: Zed Books. ISBN 0-86232-834-9.— History of Ethiopian famine of 1984-85.
  4. Gill, Peter (1986). A Year in the Death of Africa (1st ed.). London: Paladin/Grafton Books. ISBN 0-586-08537-8.— History of Ethiopian famine of 1984-85.
  5. "The Reunion". BBC. London. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. "Events Listing". University of Leicester Department of Politics and International Relations. University of Leicester. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  7. "On SIAC". London Review of Books. London. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. "National insecurity". The Guardian. London. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. "Ephems of BLB". Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  10. Barder, Brian (2001). "Britain: Still Looking for that Role?". Political Quarterly. 72 (3): 366–374. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.00396. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.
  11. "Rieff on Ethiopia". 3 July 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. Barder, Brian (2010). "Diplomacy, Ethics and the National Interest: What Are Diplomats For?". The Hague Journal of Diplomacy. 5 (3): 289–297. doi:10.1163/187119110X511653.
  13. Berridge, Geoffrey (2003). A Dictionary of Diplomacy. Alan James (Revised 2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-1536-8.
  14. Burchfield, Robert William (2004). Fowler's Modern English Usage (Revised 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861021-2. OCLC 56767410.
  15. Barder, Brian (2014). What Diplomats Do. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-2635-7.
  16. "What Diplomats Do". Publisher website. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
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