Harold Beeley

Sir Harold Beeley (15 February 1909 – 27 July 2001) was a British diplomat, historian and Arabist. Beeley began his career as a historian and lecturer, and after World War II, he joined the British diplomatic service and served in posts and ambassadorships related to the Middle East. He returned to teaching after retiring as a diplomat and stayed active in many organisations related to the Middle East.

Early life and academics Beeley was born in Manchester, England, to an upper-middle-class London merchant in 1909, and studied at Highgate School and The Queen's College, Oxford, gaining a First in Modern History. He began his career in academia; from 1930 he began to teach modern history as an assistant lecturer at Sheffield University, and the next year he moved to University College London also as an assistant lecturer. In 1935, he was appointed as a junior research fellow and lecturer at The Queen's College, Oxford and, during 1938 to 1939, Beeley lectured at University College Leicester.

Before becoming a diplomat, Beeley was chosen to serve as Secretary of the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine in 1946. According to The New York Times, his views on the issue may have helped persuade Ernest Bevin to try to limit Jewish immigration to the region. In 1973, he was appointed chairman of the World of Islam Festival Trust, where he stayed until 1996, and from 1981 to 1992, he served as chairman of the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce.

Patricia died in 1999.