Sir John Margetson, KCMG

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....

 (born 9 October 1927) is a former British Ambassador to Vietnam, the United Nations, and the Netherlands.

Early life

John William Denys Margetson was born 9 October 1927 and is the younger son of the late Very Rev W.J.Margetson and Marion Jenoure. He was educated at Blundell's School

Blundell's School

Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...

 and St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

. From 1947- 49 Margetson served his National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 with the Life Guards

Life Guards (British Army)

The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...

 regiment of the Household Cavalry

Household Cavalry

The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...

.

Diplomatic career

Following his period of National Service Margetson joined the Colonial Service

Colonial Service

The Colonial Service was the British government service which administered Britain's colonies and protectorates, under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office in London....

 and later the Diplomatic Service where he was speech writer to the Foreign Secretary, George Brown

George Brown, Baron George-Brown

George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...

.

Margetson’s later career included appointments as British Ambassador to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 (1978–80), the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, and the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 (1984–88). He was appointed CMG in 1979 and KCMG in 1986.

Following his retirement from the Foreign Office Margetson served as Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod

Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod is the Gentleman Usher to the Order of St Michael and St George, established in 1818.The office was simply designated as that of "Officer of Arms" to the Order from the first appointment in 1882 until 1911, when it received the present name.-Officers of Arms of...

from 24 July 1992 – 25 October 2002.