Alexander Cadogan
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan PC
OM
GCMG
KCB
(25 November 1884 – 9 July 1968) was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
from 1938 to 1946.
Cadogan was the eighth son and youngest child of George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan
, and his first wife Lady Beatrix Jane Craven, and was educated at Eton
and Balliol College, Oxford
. He served in the Diplomatic Service from 1908 to 1950 and was Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
from 1938 to 1946, representative to the Dumbarton Oaks Conference
in 1944, Britain's representative to the United Nations
from 1946 to 1950. He was admitted to the Privy Council
in 1946 and was later Chairman of Board of Governors of the BBC
from 1952 to 1957.
It was in 1938 that Cadogan replaced Robert Vansittart, whose style he felt to be emotional and disordered, compared to Cadogan's terse and efficient manner. There were no significant divergences in policy, although Vansittart's detestation of the dictators was more publicly known.
Cadogan's long tenure of the Permanent Secretary's office makes him one of the central figures of British policy before and during the Second World War. His diaries are a source of great value and give a sharp sense of the man and his life. Like most senior officials at the Foreign Office he was bitterly critical of the appeasement policies of the 1930s, whilst accepting that until British rearmament was better advanced, there were few other options. In particular he stressed that without an American commitment to joint defence against Japan, Britain would be torn between the eastern and western spheres. Conflict with Germany would automatically expose Britain's Asian Empire to Japanese aggression.http://www.cadoganarchive.co.uk/person.php?id=202
At the end of the war Cadogan had hoped for the Washington embassy but this went to Clerk Kerr. Instead Cadogan was appointed Britain's first Ambassador to the UN.
Cadogan married Lady Theodosia Louisa, daughter of Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, in 1912. They had one son and three daughters. He died in July 1968, aged 83.
Cadogan's name is well known by some golfers who use it to time their swing, saying 'Alexander' on the up-swing and 'Cadogan' on the down-swing.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
OM
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
GCMG
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....
KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(25 November 1884 – 9 July 1968) was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1790.Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
from 1938 to 1946.
Cadogan was the eighth son and youngest child of George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan
George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan
George Henry Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan KG, PC, JP was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
, and his first wife Lady Beatrix Jane Craven, and was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
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....
. He served in the Diplomatic Service from 1908 to 1950 and was Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1790.Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
from 1938 to 1946, representative to the Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization was an international conference at which the United Nations was formulated and negotiated among international leaders...
in 1944, Britain's representative to 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...
from 1946 to 1950. He was admitted to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1946 and was later Chairman of Board of Governors of the BBC
Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replaced by the BBC Trust on 1 January 2007.The governors...
from 1952 to 1957.
It was in 1938 that Cadogan replaced Robert Vansittart, whose style he felt to be emotional and disordered, compared to Cadogan's terse and efficient manner. There were no significant divergences in policy, although Vansittart's detestation of the dictators was more publicly known.
Cadogan's long tenure of the Permanent Secretary's office makes him one of the central figures of British policy before and during the Second World War. His diaries are a source of great value and give a sharp sense of the man and his life. Like most senior officials at the Foreign Office he was bitterly critical of the appeasement policies of the 1930s, whilst accepting that until British rearmament was better advanced, there were few other options. In particular he stressed that without an American commitment to joint defence against Japan, Britain would be torn between the eastern and western spheres. Conflict with Germany would automatically expose Britain's Asian Empire to Japanese aggression.http://www.cadoganarchive.co.uk/person.php?id=202
At the end of the war Cadogan had hoped for the Washington embassy but this went to Clerk Kerr. Instead Cadogan was appointed Britain's first Ambassador to the UN.
Cadogan married Lady Theodosia Louisa, daughter of Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, in 1912. They had one son and three daughters. He died in July 1968, aged 83.
Cadogan's name is well known by some golfers who use it to time their swing, saying 'Alexander' on the up-swing and 'Cadogan' on the down-swing.