Name John Gray | ||
Sir John Walton David Gray KBE CMG (1 October 1936 – 1 September 2003), was a senior British diplomat.
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In 1987, as the British ambassador to Beirut, Gray unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade Terry Waite from re-entering Beirut without proper protection, with the result that Waite was kidnapped and held for nearly five years.
Early life
John Gray was born in at Burry Port in Carmarthenshire and educated at Blundell's School. After National Service in Cyprus and Egypt he attended Christ's College, Cambridge and later did postgraduate research in Arab nationalism at the Middle East Centre in Oxford and the American University in Cairo. He joined the diplomatic service in 1962 and retained his link with the Middle East throughout his career.
Diplomatic career
Later career
Gray retired from the Foreign Office in 1996 and on returning to Wales became involved in public and community affairs, including: