John Edward Chadwick

Sir John Edward Chadwick (17 December 1911 – 30 August 1987) was a British civil servant and diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Romania from 1967 to 1968. From 1969 to 1971, he served as head of the British delegation at the OECD in Paris.

Early life and education

Chadwick was born on 17 December 1911, the son of John Chadwick, a barrister and Edith (née Horrocks). He was educated at Rugby School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Career

Chadwick joined the Department of Overseas Trade as an intelligence officer in 1934, and after being seconded for a year to the Treasury, in 1938 had risen to assistant trade commissioner in Calcutta. In 1941, he was attached to the newly created Eastern Group Supply Council of the Ministry of Supply based in Simla responsible for coordinating the production and distribution of military supplies in the British colonies. and served as commercial secretary at Washington from 1946 to 1948 and then, after two years at the Foreign Office, as first secretary and head of Chancery at Tel Aviv from 1950 to 1953. From 1953 to 1956, he was counsellor (commercial) at Tokyo; head of the Economic Relations Department in the Foreign Office from 1956 to 1960; minister (economic) at Buenos Aires from 1960 to 1962; and minister (commercial) at Washington from 1963 to 1967. While in Washington, according to the Times, "He was an outspoken critic of the failure of Britain to maintain its exports to the United States, expressing the opinion that businesses were often failing to take advantage of the intense diplomatic activity which was being undertaken on their behalf."

Chadwick was appointed British Ambassador to Romania in 1967, serving until 1968. The following year, he was appointed head of the British legation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, a post he held until 1971. and promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1967 New Year Honours.