Charles Hepburn Johnston
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Hepburn-Johnston GCMG
, KStJ
(11 March 1912 – 23 April 1986) was a senior British diplomat.
, and Balliol College, Oxford
, joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936. He was appointed Third Secretary in Tokyo
1939-1941; First Secretary in Cairo
1945-1948; and Madrid
1948-1955; Head of the China
and Korea
Department 1952-1954; and Counsellor in Bonn
1954-1955.
His first senior appointment was as Ambassador to Jordan
1956-1959. He then became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Aden
and High Commissioner for the Protectorate of South Arabia
1959-1963.
His final posting was as High Commissioner to Australia
1965-1971. On retirement, he became a company director and published several volumes of prose and poetry. He also translated Pushkin's novel in verse Eugene Onegin
from the Russian, preserving its unusual Onegin stanza
form. The translation was published in 1977.
he was successively appointed Commander (CMG; 1 June 1953), Knight Commander (KCMG; 1 January 1959) and Knight Grand Cross (GCMG; 1 January 1971). He was named a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John (KStJ) on 16 November 1960.
. Her mother was Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna of Russia
.
Sir Charles Johnston died in London on 23 April 1986.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, KStJ
KSTJ
KSTJ may refer to:* KFRH, a radio station licensed to Boulder City, Nevada, United States, which used the call sign KSTJ from September 1998 to October 2007...
(11 March 1912 – 23 April 1986) was a senior British diplomat.
Biography
He was born in London, the son of Ernest Johnston and Emma Hepburn, on 11 March 1912. He was educated at Winchester CollegeWinchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936. He was appointed Third Secretary in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
1939-1941; First Secretary in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
1945-1948; and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
1948-1955; Head of the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
Department 1952-1954; and Counsellor in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
1954-1955.
His first senior appointment was as Ambassador to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
1956-1959. He then became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
and High Commissioner for the Protectorate of South Arabia
Protectorate of South Arabia
The Protectorate of South Arabia was a grouping of states under treaties of protection with Britain. The Protectorate was designated on 18 January 1963 as consisting of those areas of the Aden Protectorate that did not join the Federation of South Arabia, and it broadly, but not exactly,...
1959-1963.
His final posting was as High Commissioner to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
1965-1971. On retirement, he became a company director and published several volumes of prose and poetry. He also translated Pushkin's novel in verse Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin.It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes . It was published in serial form between 1825 and 1832...
from the Russian, preserving its unusual Onegin stanza
Onegin stanza
Onegin stanza refers to the verse form invented by Alexander Pushkin for his interpersonal epic Eugene Onegin...
form. The translation was published in 1977.
Honours
Within the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
he was successively appointed Commander (CMG; 1 June 1953), Knight Commander (KCMG; 1 January 1959) and Knight Grand Cross (GCMG; 1 January 1971). He was named a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John (KStJ) on 16 November 1960.
Family
On 22 April 1944 he married Princess Nathalie Bagration-Moukhranskaya (April 19, 1914-August 26, 1984), a member of the Royal Family of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. Her mother was Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna of Russia
Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna of Russia
Princess Tatiana Constantinovna of Russia was the third child and oldest daughter of HIH the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna née HH Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg.Princess Tatiana Princess Tatiana Constantinovna of Russia (Княжна Татьяна...
.
Sir Charles Johnston died in London on 23 April 1986.