Maeve Fort

Dame Maeve Geraldine Fort (19 November 1940 – 18 September 2008) was a British diplomat. During her posting as the United Kingdom's High Commissioner in South Africa from 1996 to 2000, she was the highest ranking female diplomat in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service.

Early life Born on 19 November 1940 in Liverpool, Fort was the only child of a hospital administrator. She attended Nantwich Grammar School, but left before completing her A-Levels when she discovered that Trinity College, Dublin did not then require entrants to have taken them.

She achieved a sufficiently good degree in English and French to gain a scholarship for study at the Sorbonne from the French government.

Foreign Office Early career Fort decided to apply to join the Foreign Office, despite the fact that she was advised that as a female, and not even an Oxbridge graduate, she had little chance of being selected. However, she became one of just twelve successful candidates to be appointed to the junior grade at the Foreign Office in 1962. Fort was later promoted to First Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

Fort was then appointed Ambassador to Mozambique in 1989.

In 1992, Fort volunteered to become Ambassador to Lebanon, another dangerous posting. She had a close protection team of six bodyguards from the Royal Military Police — Fort referred to them as 'her boys'.

South Africa Fort was appointed High Commissioner to South Africa in 1996, two years after Nelson Mandela became the first black president of that country. She soon became a friend and confidant of Mandela and other high-ranking South Africans.

Death Dame Maeve Fort died in London, aged 67, following a short illness.