Kenneth Westman (diplomat)

Kenneth Edwin William Branch Westman (1907–1964) was a British diplomat and intelligence officer.

Kenneth Westman
Born
Kenneth Edwin William Branch Westman

2 February 1907
Glamorgan, Wales
Died30 July 1964
London, UK
EmployerForeign Office
SpouseJean Felicia Bedworth
Children3, including Roger,Nicholas Westman and Andrew

Life

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Westman was born at Glamorgan, Wales to James and Beatrice (née Branch). He was educated at Cheam and Cowbridge.

Westman entered HM Diplomatic Service in 1929.[1] A year later he was promoted to attaché, shortly after third secretary and later second secretary. His first overseas posting was to Paris, followed by Berlin, Vienna and the Hague.[2] He was involved in British covert operations in Latin America, particularly Bolivia, attempting to strengthen British involvement in the region.[3][4]

During the Second World War he served as an intelligence officer with the Secret Intelligence Service and SOE, being sent to France, from Madrid, on two occasions.[3]

From 1940 he served as first secretary and later envoy at the British Embassy in Madrid.[3] Maintaining Spanish neutrality was of great strategic importance and the British diplomats in Spain adopted a position of "benevolent neutrality" towards Franco's state.[5]

Personal life

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Westman married Jean Felicia Bedworth, daughter of Bertram James Davenport Bedworth and Edith Emily Dixon. They had issue:

References

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  1. ^ "Kenneth Edwin Westman". The Times. London. 1964.
  2. ^ The Geographical Journal. Royal Geographical Society. 1946.
  3. ^ a b c "K. E. Westman". The Daily Telegraph. London. 1964.
  4. ^ Cormac, Rory (1 December 2020). "The currency of covert action: British special political action in Latin America, 1961-64". Journal of Strategic Studies. 45 (6–7): 893–917. doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1852937. ISSN 0140-2390. S2CID 229392352.
  5. ^ Ramsay, Scott (4 May 2019). "Ensuring Benevolent Neutrality: The British Government's Appeasement of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939". The International History Review. 41 (3): 604–623. doi:10.1080/07075332.2018.1428211. ISSN 0707-5332.