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| Anthony Nutting | |
|---|---|
| Name | Anthony Nutting |
| Birth date | 3 January 1920 |
| Birth place | London |
| Death date | 14 December 1999 |
| Death place | Amesbury, Wiltshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Diplomat, Politician, Journalist, Author |
| Party | Conservative Party |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford, Eton College |
| Offices | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (1954–1955) |
Anthony Nutting was a British Conservative politician, diplomat, and broadcaster best known for his resignation in protest over the Suez Crisis and his subsequent work as a journalist and author. He served in the Foreign Office and as Member of Parliament for Melton before becoming a prominent critic of Anthony Eden’s handling of international affairs and of Harold Macmillan’s government. Nutting later worked in broadcasting and wrote books on diplomacy and Middle East policy.
Born in London on 3 January 1920, Nutting was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Oxford, where he read History and became involved with contemporaries from Oxford Union circles and future figures in Foreign Office and Parliamentary life. During his student years he formed contacts with future diplomats and politicians associated with institutions such as the League of Nations Secretariat alumni and the interwar networks that included Winston Churchill’s supporters and critics. His early associations connected him with figures from Conservative Monday Club-era debates and the milieu that produced postwar British Empire and Commonwealth policy-makers.
Nutting entered the Foreign Office at a time when Britain’s international role was adapting after World War II. He served in posts that brought him into contact with senior officials from the United Nations delegations, the Arab League, and representatives from Egypt and the United States during the Truman administration. His work included involvement in discussions with delegations connected to the Suez Canal Company disputes and with diplomats who would later participate in the 1956 Suez Crisis negotiations. Nutting’s time at the Foreign Office overlapped with contemporaries such as Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Selwyn Lloyd, and Robert Gascoyne-Cecil.
Elected as Member of Parliament for Melton at the 1950 general election, Nutting quickly became an active participant in Commons debates on Middle East affairs, decolonisation, and Anglo-American relations. He was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the third Churchill administration and later served under Anthony Eden as a minister in the Foreign Office. In Parliament he engaged with issues alongside MPs and ministers including Rab Butler, Edward Heath, Eden allies and critics, and backbenchers concerned with Suez Crisis policy. Nutting’s parliamentary speeches addressed relations with Egypt, the role of the United Nations Security Council, and Britain’s commitments to Commonwealth partners.
In 1956 Nutting resigned from his ministerial post in protest at the government’s policy over Egypt and the Suez Crisis, citing disagreement with secret dealings and plans that involved the Israeli intervention and coordination with France under the Protocol of Sèvres arrangements. His resignation placed him at odds with Anthony Eden and public figures such as Selwyn Lloyd and prompted exchanges with Harold Macmillan and Parliamentary colleagues. Nutting publicly criticised the conduct of the crisis, invoking the role of the United Nations and aligning with other critics who questioned the legality and prudence of Anglo-French action. The resignation elevated his profile among internationalists and opponents of Imperial intervention, and he contributed to post-crisis inquiries and debates that involved diplomats, journalists, and historians of the Cold War era.
After leaving frontline ministerial office, Nutting moved into broadcasting and journalism, contributing to outlets and programmes that covered Middle East affairs, diplomatic history, and international relations. He worked with broadcasters and publications that included former colleagues from the BBC and engaged with commentators on Nasser, Nasserism, and Arab nationalism. Nutting authored books and articles on diplomacy, drawing connections with events such as the Suez Crisis, Six-Day War, and broader Anglo-American diplomacy involving figures like Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Foster Dulles, and Dean Acheson. His media work brought him into conversation with historians and journalists from institutions including Chatham House and the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
In later life Nutting continued to write and comment on foreign policy, producing memoirs and analyses that informed historians studying mid-20th century British diplomacy, the Suez Crisis, and the decline of imperial influence. His stance during the Suez episode has been cited in works alongside analyses by biographers of Anthony Eden, studies of Harold Macmillan’s premiership, and histories of Anglo-French relations. Nutting died on 14 December 1999 in Wiltshire, leaving a legacy noted by scholars at institutions such as King’s College London and commentators in journals focused on International relations and Middle Eastern studies. His papers and publications are referenced by academics tracing the evolution of British foreign policy in the postwar period and by commentators on parliamentary dissent within the Conservative Party.
Category:1920 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies