Global political history

Global political history from 3000 BC to the 21st century – political leaders, elections, and more.

Diplomatic Relations of the United Kingdom

Australia

High Commissioner from the Court of St. James’s to the Commonwealth of Australia
Helen Lawrie Liddell

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 6 1950.

2005 – 2009

Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 13 1954.

2009 – 2010

Paul Damian Madden

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 25 1959.

2011 – 2015


Austria

Ambassador Plenipotentiary from the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor
Sir Thomas Robinson

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1695; d. September 30 1770.

1730 – 1748


Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Austrian Empire
Gilbert Elliot, 1st Baron Minto

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1751; d. June 21 1814.

1799 – 1800

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Austrian Empire
Gilbert Elliot, 1st Baron Minto

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1751; d. June 21 1814.

1801


Bavaria

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of Bavaria
Edward Finch-Hatton

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1697; d. May 16 1771.

1724 – 1725

David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 12 1776; d. March 19 1855.

1828 – 1843


Canada

High Commissioner from the Court of St. James’s to Canada
Malcolm John MacDonald

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 17 1901; d. January 11 1981

1941 – 1946


China

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Great Qing Empire
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 14 1737; d. May 31 1806.

1792 – 1794


Denmark

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Kingdom of Denmark
David George Hamilton Frost

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 21 1965.

2006 – 2008


Egypt

British Consul-General in Egypt
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 24 1850; d. June 5 1916

Titles of nobility: Baron Kitchener of Khartoum in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1898 – 1916); Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum (1902 – 1916); Earl Kitchener (1914 – 1916).

Military ranks: Promoted to major-general, 1896. Promoted to lieutenant-general, 1900. Promoted to general, 1902. Promoted to field marshal, 1909.

1911 – 1914

British High Commissioner in Egypt
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1861; d. May 14 1936

Titles of nobility: Viscount Allenby in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1919 – 1936).

Military ranks: Promoted to major-general, 1909. Promoted to lieutenant-general, 1916. Promoted to general, 1917. Promoted to field marshal, 1919.

1919 – 1925


France

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Kingdom of France
John Churchill

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 26 1650; d. June 16 1722.

1685

Horatio Walpole

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 8 1678; d. February 5 1757.

1724 – 1730

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 30 1710; d. January 5 1771.

1762 – 1763

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl of Hertford

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 5 1718; d. June 14 1794.

1763 – 1765

Major-General Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 3rd Duke of Lennox

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 22 1735; d. December 29 1806.

1765 – 1766

William Henry Nassau de Zuylenstein, 4th Earl of Rochford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 17 1717; d. September 29 1781.

1766 – 1768

David Murray, 7th Viscount of Stormont

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 9 1727; d. September 1 1796.

1772 – 1778

Thomas Grenville

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 31 1755; d. December 17 1846.

1782

Alleyne FitzHerbert

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 1 1753; d. February 19 1839.

1782 – 1783

George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 6 1737; d. September 2 1788.

1783 – 1784

Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the French Republic
General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 31 1738; d. October 5 1805.

1801 – 1802

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of France
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 1 1769; d. September 14 1852

Noble titles: Viscount Wellington in the peerage of the United Kingdom (1809 – 1852); Count of Vimeiro in the nobility of Portugal (1811 – 1852); Earl of Wellington in the peerage of the United Kingdom (1812 – 1852); Marquess of Wellington in the peerage of the United Kingdom (1812 – 1852); Duke of Vitória in the nobility of Portugal (1812 – 1852); Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo in the nobility of Spain (1812 – 1852); Duke of Wellington in the peerage of the United Kingdom (1814 – 1852); Prince of Waterloo in the nobility of the Netherlands (1815 – 1852)

Military ranks: Major-General (1802 – 1808); Lieutenant-General (1808 – 1811); General (1811 – 1813); Field Marshal (1813 – 1852)

1814 – 1815

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Viscount Granville

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1773; d. January 8 1846.

1824 – 1828

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1773; d. January 8 1846.

1830 – 1835

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1773; d. January 8 1846.

1835 – 1841

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the French Republic
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 8 1831; d. November 24 1891

Noble titles: Baron Lytton (1873 – 1891); Earl of Lytton (1880 – 1891)

1887 – 1891

Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 21 1826; d. February 12 1902

Other titles: Baron Dufferin and Claneboyne (1850 – 1902); Earl of Dufferin (1871 – 1902)

1891 – 1896

Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 4 1865; d. February 4 1948

Titles of nobility: Earl of Derby in the Peerage of England (1908 – 1948)

1918 – 1920

Alfred Duff Cooper

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 22 1890; d. January 1 1954

Titles of nobility: Viscount Norwich in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1952 – 1954).

1944 – 1948


Germany

Envoy from the Court of St. James’s to the Kingdom of Prussia
Henry Bilson-Legge

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 29 1708; d. August 23 1764.

1749

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of Prussia
James Harris

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1746; d. November 21 1820.

1772 – 1776

James Harris, 1st Baron Malmesbury

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1746; d. November 21 1820.

1793 – 1795

Lord Henry John Spencer

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 20 1770; d. July 3 1795.

1795

John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 12 1751; d. April 7 1828.

1800 – 1802

Francis James Jackson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 1770; d. August 5 1814.

1802 – 1806


Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the German Confederation
Henry Unwin Addington

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 24 1790; d. March 6 1870.

1828 – 1829


India

High Commissioner from the Court of St. James’s to the Republic of India
Malcolm John MacDonald

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 17 1901; d. January 11 1981

1955 – 1960


Italy

Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Kingdom of Sardinia
William Henry Nassau de Zuylenstein, 4th Earl of Rochford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 17 1717; d. September 29 1781.

1749 – 1755

George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 3 1721; d. March 18/20 1775.

1755 – 1758

Sir William Lynch

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1730; d. August 25 1785.

1768 – 1776

John Stuart, 1st Baron Cardiff

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 30 1744; d. November 16 1814.

1779 – 1783


Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Republic of Venice
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 17 1718; d. May 16 1778.

1744 – 1746


Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of Italy
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 21 1826; d. February 12 1902

Other titles: Baron Dufferin and Claneboyne (1850 – 1902); Earl of Dufferin (1871 – 1902)

1888 – 1892


Japan

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to Japan
Paul Damian Madden

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 25 1959.

2017 – 2021


Netherlands

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the United Provinces of the Netherlands
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 18 1674; d. June 21 1738.

1709 – 1711

Horatio Walpole

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 8 1678; d. February 5 1757.

1734 – 1739

Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 17 1718; d. May 16 1778.

1749 – 1751

James Harris, 1st Baron Malmesbury

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1746; d. November 21 1820.

1784 – 1789

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 3 1745; d. May 28 1814.

1789 – 1790

Lord Henry John Spencer

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 20 1770; d. July 3 1795.

1790 – 1793

Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 1 1753; d. February 19 1839.

1794 – 1795


Poland

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Kingdom of Poland
Edward Finch-Hatton

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1697; d. May 16 1771.

1725 – 1727

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Polish People’s Republic
Victor Frederick William Cavendish-Bentinck

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 27 1625; d. May 28 1672.

1945 – 1947


Portugal

Ambassador of the Kingdom of England to the Kingdom of Portugal
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 27 1625; d. May 28 1672.

1661 – 1662


Russia

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Russian Empire
Edward Finch-Hatton

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1697; d. May 16 1771.

1739 – 1742

George Macartney

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 14 1737; d. May 31 1806.

1764 – 1766

George Macartney

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 14 1737; d. May 31 1806.

1767 – 1768

James Harris

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1746; d. November 21 1820.

1776 – 1783

Alleyne FitzHerbert

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 1 1753; d. February 19 1839.

1783 – 1787

Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 1 1753; d. February 19 1839.

1801 – 1802

Lord Granville Leveson-Gower

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1773; d. January 8 1846.

1804 – 1805

Lord Granville Leveson-Gower

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1773; d. January 8 1846.

1807 – 1812

John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 12 1792; d. July 28 1840.

1833 – 1837

Sir John Fiennes Twistleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1805; d. December 7 1886.

1858 – 1860

Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Earl of Dufferin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 21 1826; d. February 12 1902

Other titles: Baron Dufferin and Claneboyne (1850 – 1902); Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1888 – 1902)

1879 – 1881


Minister of the Kingdom of Great Britain to Saxony
David Murray, 7th Viscount of Stormont

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 9 1727; d. September 1 1796.

1755 – 1764


Singapore

High Commissioner from the Court of St. James’s to the Republic of Singapore
Paul Damian Madden

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 25 1959.

2007 – 2011


South Africa

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Republic of South Africa
Sir James Reginald Alfred Bottomley

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 12 1920; d. June 5 2013.

1973 – 1976

High Commissioner from the Court of St. James’s to the Republic of South Africa
Paul Yaw Boateng

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 14 1951.

2005 – 2009


Spain

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Kingdom of Spain
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 27 1625; d. May 28 1672.

1666 – 1668

George Bubb Dodington

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1691; d. July 28 1762.

1715 – 1717

William Stanhope

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1683; d. December 8 1756.

1721 – 1727

George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 3 1721; d. March 18/20 1775.

1758 – 1761

William Henry Nassau de Zuylenstein, 4th Earl of Rochford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 17 1717; d. September 29 1781.

1763 – 1766

Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 1 1753; d. February 19 1839.

1790 – 1794

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 3 1745; d. May 28 1814.

1787 – 1789

Francis James Jackson (*Minister ad interim)

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 1770; d. August 5 1814.

1794 – 1795

Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 20 1760; d. September 26 1842.

1808 – 1809

Henry Unwin Addington

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 24 1790; d. March 6 1870.

1829 – 1833

Sir John Fiennes Twistleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1805; d. December 7 1886.

1860 – 1869

Sir Esmé William Howard

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 15 1863; d. August 1 1939.

1919 – 1924


Sweden

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Kingdom of Sweden
Edward Finch-Hatton

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1697; d. May 16 1771.

1728 – 1739

Lord Henry John Spencer

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 20 1770; d. July 3 1795.

1793 – 1795

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of Sweden
Anthony Merry

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 2 1756; d. June 14 1835.

1808 – 1809

Sir Esmé William Howard

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 15 1863; d. August 1 1939.

1913 – 1919


Switzerland

Minister of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Swiss Cantons
William Wickham

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 11 1761; d. October 22 1840.

1795 – 1798


Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the Swiss Confederation
Esmé William Howard

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 15 1863; d. August 1 1939.

1911 – 1913


Turkey

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Ottoman Empire
Edward Wortley Montagu

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 8 1678; d. January 22 1761.

1716 – 1718

Henry Grenville

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 11 1717; d. April 22 1784.

1761 – 1765

Francis James Jackson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 1770; d. August 5 1814.

1796 – 1799

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Ottoman Empire
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Earl of Dufferin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 21 1826; d. February 12 1902

Other titles: Baron Dufferin and Claneboyne (1850 – 1902); Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1888 – 1902)

1881 – 1884


United States

Minister Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the United States of America
George Hammond

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1763; d. 1853.

1791 – 1795

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the United States of America
Anthony Merry

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 2 1756; d. June 14 1835.

1803 – 1806

David Montagu Erskine

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 12 1776; d. March 19 1855.

1807 – 1809

Francis James Jackson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 1770; d. August 5 1814.

1809 – 1811

Sir Richard Pakenham

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 19 1797; d. October 28 1868.

1843 – 1847

Sir John Fiennes Twistleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1805; d. December 7 1886.

1852 – 1856

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James’s to the United States of America
Sir Esmé William Howard

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 15 1863; d. August 1 1939.

1924 – 1930

Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 18 1882; d. December 12 1940

Titles of nobility: Marquess of Lothian in the Peerage of Scotland (1930 – 1940).

1939 – 1940

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 16 1881; d. December 23 1959

Titles of nobility: Baron Irwin in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1925 – 1959); Viscount Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1934 – 1959); Earl of Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1944 – 1959).

1940 – 1946


Württemberg

Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of Württemberg
David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 12 1776; d. March 19 1855.

1824 – 1828