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 (1969)  1973 (1973)
Preceded byJohn Russell
Succeeded byDerek Dodson
British High Commissioner to Nigeria
In office
1967 (1967)  1969 (1969)
Preceded byFrancis Cumming-Bruce
Succeeded byLeslie Glass
British High Commissioner to Cyprus
In office
1965 (1965)  1967 (1967)
Preceded byAlec Bishop
Succeeded byNorman Costar
Personal details
Born(1913-09-25)25 September 1913
Durham, England
Died30 July 1998(1998-07-30) (aged 84)
NationalityBritish
Alma materWadham College, Oxford
OccupationDiplomat
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Battles/warsWorld 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
    Diplomatic posts
    Preceded by
    TBA
    Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister
    1950-1952
    Succeeded by
    Anthony Montague Browne
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