Hugh Gurney

Sir Hugh Gurney KCMG MVO (4 February 1878 – 7 March 1968) was a British diplomat.

Sir Hugh Gurney KCMG MVO
British Ambassador to Brazil
In office 1935–1939
Preceded by	Sir William Seeds
Succeeded by	Sir Geoffrey Knox
British Ambassador to Denmark
In office 1933–1935
Preceded by	Thomas Hohler
Succeeded by	Hon. Sir Patrick Ramsay
Personal details
Born	4 February 1878
Died	7 March 1968 (aged 90)
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Mariota Susan Carnegie (1911-1968, his death)
Occupation	Diplomat

Gurney was the son of John Gurney (1845–1887), a member of the influential Quaker Gurney banking family, and Isabel Blake-Humfrey. He joined the diplomatic service and served in various early postings in Europe. From 1911 he worked as secretary to the British Embassy in Berlin. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed as First Secretary to the Embassy in Copenhagen on 16 August 1914, where he served through most of the conflict. Gurney was not popular at Copenhagen where he was accused of being timid and lacking in judgement by Ambassador Ralph Paget. When Paget took up the position of Ambassador to Brazil in the summer of 1918, the Foreign Office in London decided to remove Gurney from Copenhagen as well due to his being almost universally disliked by his subordinates. On 10 July 1918 Lord Kilmarnock replaced Gurney as First Secretary. This highly unusual move of replacing the First Secretary at the same time as the Ambassador threatened to cut short Gurney's advancement and diplomatic career, but the crisis eventually passed.[1]

Hugh Gurney returned to Copenhagen as Ambassador to Denmark in his own right in 1933, serving until 1935.[2] He also followed in Paget's footsteps, serving as Ambassador to Brazil from 1935 to 1939. He was invested as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order[3] and as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1935.[4]

He married Mariota Susan Carnegie (1892–1980), daughter of Sir Lancelot Douglas Carnegie and Marion Alice de Gourney Barclay, on 3 July 1911.[5] Together they had two children. One of their daughters married Lord John Kerr, younger brother of Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian.

References

1. Kaarsted, Tage; Great Britain and Denmark 1914-1920; Odense, 1979: page 30
2. "The London Gazette (25 July 1933)" (PDF). Retrieved September 28, 2019.
3. "The London Gazette (1 January 1918)" (PDF). Retrieved September 28, 2019.
4. ''The London Gazette (3 June 1935)
5. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved September 28, 2019.