Claude MacDonald

Colonel The Right Honourable Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald GCMG, GCVO, KCB
Sir Claude MacDonald, c. 1900
Personal details
Born	12 June 1852 Morar, Gwalior India
Died	10 September 1915 (aged 63) London, England, UK
Spouse(s)	Ethel Armstrong MacDonald (m. 1892–1915; his death)
Parents	James Dawson and Mary Ellen Macdonald
Education	Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Occupation	Soldier, diplomat

Colonel Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald, GCMG, GCVO, KCB, PC (12 June 1852 – 10 September 1915) was a British soldier and diplomat, best known for his service in China and Japan.

MacDonald was born to a high-ranking officer in the British Army, and was educated at Uppingham School and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the 74th Foot in 1872. He thought of himself as a 'soldier-outsider', as regards the Foreign Office.

MacDonald’s early career was in Africa. He served in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, and served as military attaché to Sir Evelyn Baring from 1884–85. From 1887–89 he was consul-general at Zanzibar, and then served some years as consul-general at Brass in the West African Oil Rivers Protectorate, where in 1895 he was an observer of the rebellion of King Koko of Nembe. He retired from the British Army in 1896.

In 1896, MacDonald was appointed British minister to Qing Dynasty Empire of China. He was simultaneously the British Minister to the Empire of Korea in 1896 through 1898.