Sir David Manning | |
|---|---|
 Sir David Manning during an interview withDonald Rumsfeld andJack Straw, on 9 May 2005. | |
| British Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 2003–2007 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Christopher Meyer |
| Succeeded by | Nigel Sheinwald |
| UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council | |
| In office 2001–2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Sir John Goulden |
| Succeeded by | Sir Emyr Jones Parry |
| British Ambassador to Israel | |
| In office 1995–1998 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Robert Andrew Burns |
| Succeeded by | Francis Cornish |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-12-05)5 December 1949 (age 75) |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies |
Sir David Geoffrey Manning,GCMG, KCVO (born 5 December 1949) is a former British diplomat, who was theBritish Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007. He authored the so-called "Manning Memo", that summarized the details of a meeting betweenAmerican presidentGeorge W. Bush andBritish prime ministerTony Blair during the run-up to theinvasion of Iraq in 2003. Until 2019, he was appointed to theHousehold ofthe Duke andDuchess of Cambridge andthe Duke andDuchess of Sussex.
Manning was educated atArdingly College and went on to study atOriel College, Oxford, and at thePaul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of theJohns Hopkins University. He began his career as a civil servant in theForeign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1972. He has served in UK Embassies inWarsaw, New Delhi, Paris, and Moscow, and within the FCO he has worked on the Central American desk, the Russian desk and held several senior positions. He has represented the UK inBrussels and also at the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia in 1994.
Between 1995 and 1998, he was British Ambassador toIsrael; from 2001, he was a foreign policy adviser toBritish prime ministerTony Blair. During this time he developed a close relationship with his counterpart, then US National Security AdvisorCondoleezza Rice. Blair selected him to replaceChristopher Meyer as the British Ambassador to the United States. Manning took up the post in 2003. Ambassador Manning visited numerous states, as well as the US territory ofPuerto Rico, during his term as Ambassador to the United States and was instrumental in planning Queen Elizabeth's most recent visit.
In the weeks before the United States-ledinvasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a secondUnited Nations resolution condemning Iraq,President Bush met withTony Blair. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on 31 January 2003, Bush made it clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he, Bush, was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, stated a confidential memo about the meeting written by Manning and reviewed byThe New York Times.
At their meeting, Bush and Blair candidly expressed their doubts that chemical, biological or nuclear weapons would be found in Iraq in the coming weeks, the memo said. The president spoke as if an invasion was unavoidable. The two leaders discussed a timetable for the war, details of the military campaign and plans for the aftermath of the war.The memo also says the president raised three possible ways of provoking a confrontation, including the most controversial:
"The U.S. was thinking of flyingU2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in U.N. colours," the memo says, attributing the idea to Mr. Bush. "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach".[1]
His close relationship with the Prime Minister suggests he has been a key figure in driving British foreign policy in respect of the United States, particularly in theaftermath of the11 September 2001 attacks and the decision toinvade Iraq.
On 30 November 2009, Manninggave evidence toThe Iraq Inquiry.[2]
He was appointedKnight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the2008 New Year Honours. Manning retired from Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in January 2008. Six months later, he joinedBG Group (formerlyBritish Gas plc) on a part-time basis at a reported annual salary of £80,000.[3] In 2008 he became a non-executive director ofLockheed Martin and joined the advisory board ofHakluyt & Company, an intelligence company partly staffed by formerSIS officers.[4]
At the beginning of 2009, Manning was appointed bythe Queen to a "part-time, advisory role"[5] in the newly formedhousehold ofPrince William andPrince Harry.
Manning has been elected to the Council of Lloyd's as an external member.[6]
In 2010 Manning formed Gatehouse Advisory Partners Limited in partnership withSir Jeremy Greenstock. Gatehouse works with organisations to factor geopolitics into their decision making.
He was appointedKnight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the2015 New Year Honours.[7]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) – 2008
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) – 2015, CVO - 2007
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | British Ambassador to Israel 1995–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | British Ambassador to the United States 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |