Richard Parsons

Sir Richard Parsons (b. Marylebone 14 March 1928 – 23 April 2016) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Hungary, Spain and Sweden, and a novelist, playwright and (under a pseudonym) crime writer.

Career Richard Edmund Clement Fownes Parsons was educated at Bembridge School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He served in the British Army 1949–51, then joined the Diplomatic Service. Between posts at the Foreign Office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) he served at the embassies in Washington, D.C., Vientiane, Buenos Aires, Ankara and Lagos. He was ambassador to Hungary 1976–79, to Spain 1980–84, and to Sweden 1984–87. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) while in Hungary and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order (KCMG) during his posting to Spain.

He died on 23 April 2016 at the age of 88.

Publications The Moon Pool, Mandarin, 1990. Rialto : Mortmain : Dead end : three plays, Samuel French, 1993. The Den of the Basilisk, Melrose Books, 2012. Howling at the Moon, Melrose Books, 2013. As John Haythorne: None of Us Cared for Kate, Cassell, 1968. The Strelsau dimension, Quartet, 1981. Mandrake in Granada, Ross Anderson, Bolton, 1984. Mandrake in the monastery, Ross Anderson, Bolton, 1985.