Basil Stephen Talbot Eastwood CMG (born 4 March 1944)[1] is a retired British diplomat.
Early life
editEastwood was educated at Eton College (from 1957 until 1962) and Merton College, Oxford,[1] where he studied history, and, later, Arabic.[2]
Career
editEastwood held posts in Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Germany, and Sudan, where he was posted as Head of Chancery in 1984. He was British Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic from 1996 to 2000 and to the Swiss Confederation from 2001 to 2004.[3]
In July 1998, while serving in Syria, Eastwood announced a courtesy visit to Damascus by HMS Marlborough and the supply ship RFA Fort Victoria. In a lengthy statement carried by Reuters, he said he hoped this would be the beginning of programmes of military co-operation between Syria and the United Kingdom.[4]
In 1998 Eastwood co-founded Cecily's Fund, a charity that helps Zambian orphans by funding their education. He is currently the chair of the charity's International Advisory Panel.[5]
In November 1999, Eastwood arranged talks in Damascus between United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, US ambassador Ryan Crocker, Lord Levy, representing Tony Blair, and himself.[6]
In 2004, Eastwood and Richard W. Murphy, a United States Assistant Secretary of State under the Reagan presidency, published a joint study which noted: "In the Arab Middle East, the awkward truth is that the most significant movements which enjoy popular support are those associated with political Islam".[7] Their study called on the western powers to seek to engage with moderate Islamists.[8]
Honours
edit- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1999[3][9]
References
edit- ^ a b Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 548.
- ^ "Interview with Basil Eastwood CMG for the British Diplomatic Oral History Programm" (PDF).. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ a b "Eastwood, Basil Stephen Talbot, (born 4 March 1944), HM Diplomatic Service, retired, CMG 1999" in Who's Who online, 1 December 2007, accessed 10 March 2023 (subscription required)
- ^ Developments in the Middle East: Hearing Before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, 105th Congress, Second Session, Vol. 4 (July 29, 1998(, p. 54
- ^ Cecily's Fund Trustees Archived 2010-07-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ Michael Levy, Baron Levy, A Question of Honour: Inside New Labour (Simon and Schuster, 10 June 2008), p. 159
- ^ Abdel Bari Atwan, Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate (2015), p. 199
- ^ Addullahi Alazreg, ISIS: Management of Savagery (Dorrance Publishing, 14 July 2016), p. 192
- ^ The London Gazette, 12 June 1999, Supplement 55513, p. 3