John Boyd (diplomat)

Sir John Dixon Iklé Boyd Template:Post-nominals (17 January 1936 – 18 October 2019) was a British ambassador and academic administrator. He was British ambassador to Japan from 1992 to 1996, and subsequently the Master of Churchill College, Cambridge from 1996 to 2006.

Early life and education

Boyd was born on 17 January 1936 to James Dixon Boyd and Amélie (Template:Nee Lowenthal).<ref name="WWW">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His father would go on to be became Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge.<ref name="Obit Times">Template:Cite news</ref> He was educated at Westminster School, an all-boys public school in central London.<ref name="WWW" /> He attended Clare College, Cambridge, where he initially read medicine before moving to modern languages.<ref name="obit Tele">Template:Cite news</ref> He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.<ref name="WWW" /> He was then awarded a postgraduate scholarship to study in the United States, and attended Yale University to undertake foreign area studies and to study Mandarin.<ref name="BDOHP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1962.<ref name="WWW" /><ref name="Yale">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Diplomatic career

Boyd was a member of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service from 1962 to 1996.<ref name="BDOHP" /> He served twice in Hong Kong (on the second occasion as Political Adviser to the Governor) and Beijing twice. Other postings included Bonn, Washington, and the UK Mission to the UN. At home he served as Deputy Under-Secretary for Defence and subsequently Chief Clerk of the FCO before his posting to Japan. His tenure in Tokyo saw a marked expansion in bilateral exchanges on a wide front. He holds the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.<ref>Japanese Embassy Announcement</ref>

Other roles

Boyd was Master of Churchill College, Cambridge from 1996 to 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum from 2002 to 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Boyd served as Chairman of Asia House from 2010 to 2017.<ref>FT article</ref>

Personal life

In 1968, Boyd married Gunilla Rönngren, a Swedish diplomat.<ref name="WWW" /><ref name="Obit Times" /> They had two children,<ref name="WWW" /> before divorcing in the 1970s.<ref name="Obit Times" /> In 1977, he married Julia Raynsford.<ref name="Obit Times" /> He had three daughters from his second marriage.<ref name="obit Tele" />

Boyd died on 18 October 2019, at the age of 83.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Anglo-Japanese relations
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Heads of the United Kingdom Mission in Japan