Robert Clive (diplomat)

British diplomat

The Right Honourable

Sir Robert Clive

GCMG

British Ambassador to Belgium and Minister to Luxembourg
In office
1937–1939
Monarch| George VI
Prime Minister| Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by| Sir Esmond Ovey
Succeeded by| Sir Lancelot Oliphant (as Ambassador to Belgium)
Nigel Watson (as Chargé d'affaires to Luxembourg)
British Ambassador to Japan
In office
1934–1937
Monarchs| George V
Edward VIII
George VI
Prime Minister| Ramsay MacDonald
Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by| Sir Francis Oswald Lindley
Succeeded by| Sir Robert Craigie
Personal details
Born| (1877-12-23)23 December 1877
Died| 13 May 1948(1948-05-13) (aged 70)
Nationality| British
Children| 3
Relatives| William Feilding, 7th Earl of Denbigh (grandfather)
Edward Clive (great-grandfather)
Education| Haileybury College
Alma mater| Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation| Diplomat

Sir Robert Henry Clive GCMG PC (23 December 1877 – 13 May 1948) was a British diplomat.

## Early life

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Clive was the son of Charles Meysey Bolton Clive and the great-grandson of Edward Clive. His mother was Lady Kathleen Elizabeth Mary Julia, daughter of William Feilding, 7th Earl of Denbigh. He was educated at Haileybury College and Magdalen College, Oxford.[1]

## Career

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Sir Robert Clive, new British Ambassador (left), leaving with general Dubois after presenting his credentials to King Leopold at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

Clive entered the Diplomatic Service in 1902. He was General-Consul for Bavaria between 1923 and 1924 and for Morocco between 1924 and 1926 and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia between 1926 and 1931 and to the Holy See between 1933 and 1934.[1]

In 1934 he was appointed British Ambassador to Japan, a post he held until 1937.[2]

Clive served as British Ambassador to Belgium between 1937 and 1939. Clive was sworn of the Privy Council in 1934 and appointed a GCMG in 1937. He retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1939.[1]

## Personal life

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In 1905, Clive married the Honourable Magdalen, daughter of Kenneth Muir Mackenzie, 1st Baron Muir-Mackenzie. They had two sons and one daughter.[1]

Clive died in May 1948, aged 70. Lady Clive died in October 1971, aged 87.[1]

## See also

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* List of diplomats from the United Kingdom to Iran
* List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the Holy See
* List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Japan
* List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Belgium
* Anglo-Japanese relations

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c d e Lundy, Darryl. "Sir Robert Henry Clive, ID#239924". The Peerage.[unreliable source]
2. ^ Hoare, James. (1999). Embassies in the East: the Story of the British Embassies in Japan, China, and Korea from 1859 to the Present,, p. 214, at Google Books; WorldCat Identities: Clive, Robert Henry Sir

## References

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* Hoare, James. (1999). Embassies in the East: the Story of the British Embassies in Japan, China, and Korea from 1859 to the Present. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press. ISBN 9780700705122; OCLC 42645589

## Further reading

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* Great Britain. Public Record Office. Foreign Office files for Japan and the Far East. Series one, Embassy and consular archives, Japan (Public Record Office class FO 262). Part 6, Economic and military expansion renewed : withdrawal from the League of Nations, the North China incident, European Crisis and an "open door" in the Far East : (FO 262/1861-1988, 2004-2032, 2036-2039) : detailed correspondence for 1934-1940. ISBN 9781857110517; OCLC 224267234
* Nish, Ian. (2004). British Envoys in Japan 1859-1972. Folkestone, Kent: Global Oriental. ISBN 9781901903515; OCLC 249167170

## External links

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* UK in Japan, Chronology of Heads of Mission

Diplomatic posts

Preceded by

Sir Percy Loraine, Bt

|  Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia
1926–1931  | Succeeded by

Sir Reginald Hoare

Preceded by

Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick
(Chargé d'Affaires)

|  Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Holy See
1933–1934  | Succeeded by

Sir Charles Wingfield

Preceded by

Sir Francis Lindley

|  British Ambassador to Japan
1934–1937  | Succeeded by

Sir Robert Craigie

Preceded by

Sir Esmond Ovey

|  British Ambassador to Belgium
1937–1939  | Succeeded by

Sir Lancelot Oliphant

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

People|

* Deutsche Biographie