Nicholas Spreckley

Sir John Nicholas Teague Spreckley (6 December 1934 – 3 December 1994) was a British diplomat who served as Ambassador to South Korea from 1983 to 1986 and High Commissioner to Malaysia from 1986 to 1991.

Early life and education Spreckley was born on 6 December 1934, the son of Air Marshal Sir Herbert Spreckley KBE and Winifred Teague. He was educated at Winchester College and Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Career Spreckley joined the Foreign Service in 1957 and was posted to Tokyo where he served until 1962. After four years serving in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), he was dispatched to Dakar (1966–1970) and then to Paris (1970–1975). After serving for a few months as head of the referendum unit at the FCO coordinating work on the referendum on continuing membership of the European Community, he returned to Tokyo where, from 1976 to 1978, he was Counsellor and Head of Chancery. After spending a year on sabbatical as a Fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs, he returned to the FCO to handle European Community issues as Head of European Communities Department, Internal section. While some post-colonial friction still lingered and dealings with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad could be challenging, according to The Times, "Spreckley conducted a successful mission to a country of great and growing importance to Britain." A highlight of his term in office was Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to Malaysia in 1989. Spreckley was appointed KCVO on the occasion. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1989.