Lancelot Oliphant

Sir Lancelot Oliphant, KCMG, CB (8 October 1881 – 2 October 1965) was a British diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium, Minister-Plenipotentiary to Luxembourg and Director General of the Foreign Office.

His decision that Britain would neither join nor fund a joint partnership with Saudi Arabia to explore for oil, thus forcing the Saudis to cooperate with the United States, left him with the unwanted soubriquet The diplomat who said 'No' to Saudi oil.

Lancelot Oliphant was the youngest of three sons of Arthur Craigie Oliphant and Agnes Mary, daughter of Rear Admiral William Horton and grand daughter of Admiral Joshua Syndey Horton. Sir Lancelot's grandfather was Col. James Oliphant, Chairman of the East India Company, who in turn was the younger brother of Laurence Oliphant, 8th of Condie, Member of Parliament for Perth. Lancelot was married to Christine McRae Sinclair. She had previously been married to Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill (1864–1934). One of Sir Lancelot's brothers was Rear Admiral Laurence Richard Oliphant, who was married to the Hon. Adelaide Daphne Hermione Willoughby, daughter of the 10th Baron Middleton, who are the grandparents of the present (34th) Chief of the Oliphants. Lancelot was educated privately.

Lancelot joined the Foreign Office on 25 August 1903 as a clerk. He passed the examination second out of sixteen. In September 1905 he was appointed third Secretary in Constantinople. In August 1906 Lancelot returned to the Foreign Office and worked in the eastern department. Between March, 1909 and October 1911 he was third Secretary in Tehran. He subsequently returned to the eastern department at the Foreign Office. During the First World War Oliphant worked in the War Office department, dealing with political affairs.

After World War 1 he was assistant secretary in the Foreign Office's central department, and acting counsellor from December 1920. In September 1923 he was promoted to counsellor and returned to the eastern department. In February 1928 Oliphant was promoted to acting assistant under-secretary of state and then in April 1929, to substantive under-secretary of state.

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