Robert Tesh

Robert Mathieson Tesh (15 September 1922 – 15 March 2002) was a British diplomat. He was the United Kingdom's ambassador to Bahrain from 1972 to 1975, to Vietnam from 1976 to 1978, and to Ethiopia from 1979 to 1982.

Career

During the Second World War, Tesh was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade in 1942. He later entered the British diplomatic service.

Tesh served as deputy high commissioner in Ghana from 1965 to 1966 and briefly as deputy high commissioner in Zambia in 1966. From 1966 to 1968 he was a counsellor at the British embassy in Cairo. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1968 Birthday Honours while serving in Cairo. From 1970 to 1972, he headed the Defence Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

In July 1972, Tesh was appointed ambassador to Bahrain, succeeding Alexander Stirling. He held the post until 1975. His tenure coincided with Bahrain's short-lived parliamentary experiment, including the election of the country's first National Assembly in 1973 and its dissolution in 1975. Tesh's reports to London on the assembly, political opposition and labour unrest have subsequently been used by historians studying Bahrain in the early years after independence.

Tesh was appointed ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with effect from 7 February 1976. Following the formal reunification of North and South Vietnam later that year, he continued as British ambassador to Vietnam, serving until 1978. He was succeeded by John Margetson.

On 11 April 1979, Tesh was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia. He remained in Addis Ababa until 1982, when he was succeeded by Brian Barder. Tesh died on 15 March 2002, aged 79.

Honours

• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), 1968.