Edwin Bolland

Sir Edwin Bolland (20 October 1922 – 5 December 2008) was a British civil servant and diplomat who served as ambassador to Bulgaria from 1973 to 1976 and ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1980 to 1982.

Early life and education

Bolland was born on 20 October 1922. His father was a miner who died in an accident when he was two years old. He was educated at Morley Grammar School and University College, Oxford where he took a degree in History.

Career

After serving during World War II from 1942 to 1945 with the Royal Artillery in North Africa and Italy, Bolland entered the Foreign Office in 1947. His first posting was to Moscow before he was transferred to Iran. After Iran broke off relations, he returned to the Foreign Office and worked in the research department before he was sent to Burma for three years. From 1958 to 1961, he served as information officer in Paris and then spent two years back in Moscow. before he was appointed head of the British delegation to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions Negotiations (MBFR) in Vienna, a post he held from 1976 to 1980. His final posting was as Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1980 to 1982 which, according to The Times, "enabled him to use his accumulated experience of the communist world and mark a fulfilling end to his diplomatic career."

Personal life and death

Bolland married Winifred Mellor in 1948 and they had two sons and three daughters. and promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1981 Birthday Honours.