Michael Scott Weir

Sir Michael Scott Weir, was a British diplomat.

Early life and career

Weir was born in Dunfermline, Fife, where his father was a primary school teacher.
He went to study oriental languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies on a state scholarship in 1942. A year later he joined the Royal Air Force, which sent him to London University to learn Persian. He was then posted as an intelligence officer, including to Burma and Iraq.
After demobilisation in 1947, he went to Balliol College, Oxford where he read classics. He joined the Foreign Service in 1950, and quickly became one of its leading Arabists. His early postings included Bahrain, Doha and Sharjah. Weir's career culminated with his appointment as the United Kingdom's ambassador to Egypt. In 1981, he was sitting behind Egyptian President Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated at a military parade.
Weir retired from the Foreign Service in 1985. He served as president of the Egypt Exploration Society and Director of the 21st Century Trust. He was the founding Chairman of the British Egyptian Society in 1990 and continued as Chairman until 2006. The society sponsors the Sir Michael Weir Annual Lecture in his honour.

Family

Weir met his first wife, Alison Walker, at Oxford. They were married from 1953 until 1974 and had four children, including writer and comedian Arabella Weir. In 1976, Weir married Hilary Reid, with whom he had two children. He died in London on 22 June 2006.

Honours

Weir was appointed Companion of the [Order of St Michael and St George|CMG] in 1974 and Knight Commander of the Order of [St Michael and St George|KCMG] in 1980.