Sir Crispin Tickell KCVO, GCMG, was born on August 25 1930 and died on January 25 2022, aged 91.
Sir Crispin had a long and distinguished career in diplomatic service which included the role of British Ambassador to the United Nations. Sir Crispin is particularly known for his major contributions in the field of environmental policy. He was an early and prominent advocate for placing environmental issues, particularly climate change, at the heart of mainstream political and business decision making. His book Climate Change and World Affairs (1977) was one of the first to recognise the approaching climate crisis. These achievements were acknowledged with a knighthood in 1983.
On retiring from diplomatic service in 1990 Sir Crispin became warden of Green College, Oxford. At the same time he took on the Presidency of the Royal Geographical Society (1990-93). He was instrumental in the merger of the Royal Geographical Society and The Institute of British Geographers, chairing the joint working group that made it happen. He brought immense breadth of political contacts of the highest level into the ambit of the Society given his roles in the UN and Whitehall/EU. As President, as in his many other roles, he continued to serve as a prominent and determined advocate for understanding and action on global environmental issues.
Read an extended tribute to Sir Crispin (via The Times)
An obituary in The Geographical Journal will follow.