Stuart Laing (diplomat)

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Stuart Laing
British Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
2005–2008
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Gordon Brown
Preceded by
Succeeded byMichael Aron
British Ambassador to Oman
In office
2002–2005
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded bySir Ivan Callan
Succeeded by
British High Commissioner to Brunei
In office
1998–2002
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded bySir Ivan Callan
Succeeded by

Stuart Laing (born 22 July 1948)[1] is a former British diplomat and was Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge from 2008 to 2018.

Career as diplomat[]

Laing entered the diplomatic service in 1970. During his service in the Diplomatic Service, Laing held the following offices:[2]

Academic career[]

Laing graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1970 having studied Classics.[3] He was appointed Master of his old college Corpus Christi on 1 October 2008 succeeding Oliver Rackham,[4] and retired from that position in August 2018. He researches and writes on Arab and East African history and in 2012 he published, jointly with Robert Alston, Unshook till the end of time, a book on the history of Britain's relationship with Oman.[5][6] The degree of M.Phil. was conferred to him in 2013[7] for a thesis on the ending of the slave trade in the Indian Ocean.[8] In 2017 he published a biography of the ivory trader Tippu Tip (Hamed bin Mohammed al-Murjabi).[9][10]

Personal life[]

Laing is a keen amateur musician; he plays keyboard instruments and the oboe. His other recreations are desert travel and hill-walking.[11] Laing is married to Sibella (daughter of Sir Maurice Henry Dorman, herself a graduate in History of Newnham College, Cambridge) and has a son and two daughters.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "Her Majesty's Ambassador". The National Archives.
  3. ^ Announcement of new Master for Corpus Christi College (3 June 2008) University of Cambridge
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Mastership Announcement Corpus Christi College
  5. ^ Alston, Robert; Laing, Stuart (2017). Unshook Till the End of Time: A History of Relations Between Britain & Oman 1650 - 1970. Gilgamesh Publishing. ISBN 978-1-908531-76-6.
  6. ^ Heard, David (2 September 2014). "Robert Alston and Stuart Laing. Unshook till the End of Time: A History of Relations between Britain & Oman 1650-1970 (Book Review)". Asian Affairs. 45 (3): 503–505. doi:10.1080/03068374.2014.953881.
  7. ^ Cambridge University Reporter No 6307, Vol cxliii No 30 (15 May 2013)
  8. ^ Factors in the decisions by the sultans of Muscat and Zanzibar to end the slave trade and slavery in their dominions, 1820-1900 / Stuart Laing : University of Cambridge. Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2012.
  9. ^ Laing, Stuart (2017). Tippu Tip: Ivory, Slavery and Discovery in the Scramble for Africa. Medina Publishing. ISBN 978-1-911487-05-0.
  10. ^ Mathews, Nathaniel (March 2019). "The Life of Tippu Tip. Tippu Tip: Ivory, Slavery, and Discovery in the Scramble for Africa. By Stuart Laing. (Book Review)". The Journal of African History. 60 (01): 121–122. doi:10.1017/S0021853719000070. ISSN 0021-8537. LCCN 63005723. OCLC 1039207112.
  11. ^ "Mr Stuart Laing, MA MPhil". Corpus Christi College. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir Ivan Callan
British High Commissioner to Brunei
1998–2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sir Ivan Callan
British Ambassador to Oman
2002–2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by
British Ambassador to Kuwait
2005–2008
Succeeded by
Michael Aron
Academic offices
Preceded by
Oliver Rackham
Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
2008–2018
Succeeded by
Christopher Kelly


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