David Hunt (diplomat)

Sir David Hunt KCMG OBE (25 September 1913 – 30 July 1998) was a British diplomat, best remembered as winner of the BBC's Mastermind television quiz in 1977.

Sir David Hunt KCMG OBE
British Ambassador to Brazil
In office 1969 – 1973
Preceded by	John Russell
Succeeded by	Derek Dodson
British High Commissioner to Nigeria
In office 1967 – 1969
Preceded by	Francis Cumming-Bruce
Succeeded by	Leslie Glass
British High Commissioner to Cyprus
In office 1965 – 1967
Preceded by	Alec Bishop
Succeeded by	Norman Costar
Personal details
Born	25 September 1913 Durham, England
Died	30 July 1998 (aged 84)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Wadham College, Oxford
Occupation	Diplomat
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Battles/wars	World War II

Life and career

Hunt was born in Durham, and studied at Wadham College, Oxford. He served with distinction in World War II, and entered the diplomatic service in 1947. He served as Private Secretary to prime ministers Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill, and was knighted in 1963. From 1965 to 1967 he was the British High Commissioner to Cyprus.

From 1967 to 1969, he served as High Commissioner to Nigeria. Frederick Forsyth, then a journalist in Nigeria and later a successful novelist, described Hunt as "a snob and a racist"[1] representing the diplomatic corps whose "blithering incompetence" failed to appreciate or deal with the tensions that erupted into the Nigerian Civil War.[2] Forsyth claimed that Hunt was responsible for Britain's complete misreading of the war, contributing to the deaths of millions of Biafrans, particularly starving children.[1]

Subsequently, beginning in 1969, Hunt was British Ambassador to Brazil, retiring in 1973.

Hunt won the Mastermind title in 1977 and was runner-up in the Mastermind International of 1979.

In 1982, a Champion of Champions tournament among the first ten Mastermind champions was televised. Hunt won the overall title.

Publications

Hunt had a number of books published:

• A Don at War. London: F. Cass. 1990 [1966]. ISBN 978-0-7146-3383-1.
• On the spot: an ambassador remembers. London: P. Davies. 1975. ISBN 978-0-432-06962-2.
• Memoirs military and diplomatic (Revised ed.). London: Trigraph. 2006 [1998]. ISBN 978-0-947961-10-7. A revised edition of the two books A Don at war and On the spot: an ambassador remembers.
• Footprints in Cyprus : an illustrated history. London: Trigraph. 1990 [1982]. ISBN 978-0-9508026-7-1.. Co-authored with J.N. Coldstream

Sources

1. Forsyth, Frederick (2020-01-21). "Buried for 50 years: Britain's shameful role in the Biafran war | Frederick Forsyth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
2. Forsyth, Frederick (2015). The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue. NY, Putnams