Editing David Manning

{{Short description|British diplomat (born 1949)}}
{{other people}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = 
|name             = Sir David Manning
|honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCMG|KCVO}}
|image            = David Manning 050519-D-9880W-029.jpg
|caption          = Sir David Manning during an interview with [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and [[Jack Straw]], on 9 May 2005.
|office           = [[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States|British Ambassador to the United States]]
|term_start       = 2003
|term_end         = 2007
|monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
|president        = [[George W. Bush]]
|primeminister    = [[Tony Blair]]<br>[[Gordon Brown]]
|predecessor      = [[Christopher Meyer]]
|successor        = [[Nigel Sheinwald]]
|office2          = [[UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council]]
|term_start2      = 2001
|term_end2        = 2001
|primeminister2   = [[Tony Blair]]
|predecessor2     = [[John Goulden|Sir John Goulden]]
|successor2       = [[Emyr Jones Parry|Sir Emyr Jones Parry]]
|office3          = [[List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Israel|British Ambassador to Israel]]
|term_start3      = 1995
|term_end3        = 1998
|primeminister3   = [[John Major]]<br>[[Tony Blair]]
|predecessor3     = [[Robert Andrew Burns]]
|successor3       = [[Francis Cornish (diplomat)|Francis Cornish]]
|birth_date       = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1949|12|5}}
|birth_place      = 
|death_date       = 
|death_place      = 
|alma_mater       = [[Oriel College, Oxford]]<br />[[Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies]]}}

'''Sir David Geoffrey Manning''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCMG|KCVO}} (born 5 December 1949) is a former British diplomat, who was the [[List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the United States|British Ambassador to the United States]] from 2003 to 2007. He authored the so-called "[[Bush-Blair 2003 Iraq memo|Manning Memo]]", that summarized the details of a meeting between [[President of the United States|American president]] [[George W. Bush]] and [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British prime minister]] [[Tony Blair]] during the run-up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]] in 2003. Until 2019, he was appointed to the [[Royal household|Household]] of [[William, Prince of Wales|the Duke]] and [[Catherine, Princess of Wales|Duchess of Cambridge]] and [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|the Duke]] and [[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex|Duchess of Sussex]].

==Life and career==
[[File:Ardingly College, Sussex.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ardingly College]]]]
Manning was educated at [[Ardingly College]] and went on to study at [[Oriel College, Oxford]], and at the [[Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies]] of the [[Johns Hopkins University]]. He began his career as a civil servant in the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] (FCO) in 1972. He has served in UK Embassies in [[Warsaw]], 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 in [[Brussels]] and also at the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia in 1994.

Between 1995 and 1998, he was British ambassador to [[Israel]]; from 2001, he was a foreign policy adviser to [[British prime minister]] [[Tony Blair]]. During this time he developed a close relationship with his counterpart, then US National Security Advisor [[Condoleezza Rice]]. Blair selected him to replace [[Christopher 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 of [[Puerto Rico]], during his term as Ambassador to the United States and was instrumental in planning Queen Elizabeth's most recent visit.

===2003 Iraq War===
In the weeks before the United States-led [[invasion of Iraq]], as the United States and Britain pressed for a second [[United Nations resolution]] condemning Iraq, [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] met with [[Tony 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 by ''[[The 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:

<blockquote>"The U.S. was thinking of flying [[U2 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".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/international/europe/27memo.html | work=The New York Times | title=Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says | date=27 March 2006 | accessdate=1 May 2010 | first=DON VAN | last=NATTA Jr}}</ref></blockquote>

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 the [[Aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks|aftermath]] of the [[11 September 2001 attacks]] and the decision to [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invade Iraq]].

On 30 November 2009, Manning [[List of witnesses of The Iraq Inquiry#30 November|gave evidence]] to [[The Iraq Inquiry]].<ref name="BBC Iraq">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8386645.stm|title=Blair 'ready to back regime change in 2002' – adviser|date=30 November 2009|work=[[BBC News]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=28 January 2010}}</ref>

===Later life===
He was appointed [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) in the [[2008 New Year Honours]]. Manning retired from Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in January 2008. Six months later, he joined [[BG Group]] (formerly [[British Gas plc]]) on a part-time basis at a reported annual salary of £80,000.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=hp_sauce& |title=The Libya Link Man |publisher=[[Private Eye]] |accessdate=15 September 2009 }}</ref> In 2008 he became a non-executive director of [[Lockheed Martin]] and joined the advisory board of [[Hakluyt & Company]], an intelligence company partly staffed by former [[MI6|SIS]] officers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5163070.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629132520/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5163070.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2011|title= Tony Blair's former Iraq aide joins defence giant|author=Marie Woolf and Solomon Hughes|newspaper=Sunday Times|date=16 November 2008|accessdate=24 January 2010 | location=London}}</ref>

At the beginning of 2009, Manning was appointed by [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] to a "part-time, advisory role"<ref name="wh">[http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/a_new_household_for_his_royal_highness_prince_william_of_wal_995146659.html The Prince of Wales — A new household...]</ref> in the newly formed [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom#Household of the Prince and Princess of Wales|household]] of [[Prince William]] and [[Prince Harry]].

Manning has been elected to the Council of Lloyd's as an external member.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lloyds.com/Lloyds/Investor-Relations/Corporate-Governance/Council-of-Lloyds |title=Council of Lloyd's - Investor relations - Lloyd's |accessdate=2012-06-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622150648/http://www.lloyds.com/Lloyds/Investor-Relations/Corporate-Governance/Council-of-Lloyds |archivedate=22 June 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2010 Manning formed Gatehouse Advisory Partners Limited in partnership with [[Jeremy Greenstock|Sir Jeremy Greenstock]]. Gatehouse works with organisations to factor geopolitics into their decision making.

He was appointed [[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] (KCVO) in the [[2015 New Year Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61092|supp=y|page=N4|date=31 December 2014}}</ref>

===Posts held===
* 1972: entered Foreign and Commonwealth Office
* 1972–1974: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mexico/Central America Department)
* 1974–1977: Warsaw, Poland (3rd later 2nd Secretary)
* 1977–1980: New Delhi, India (2nd later 1st Secretary)
* 1980–1982: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Soviet Department)
* 1982–1984: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Deputy Head of Policy Planning Department)
* 1984–1988: Paris, France (1st Secretary)
* 1988–1990: Counsellor on loan to Cabinet Office
* 1990–1993: Moscow, Russia (Counsellor, Head of Chancery)
* 1993–1994: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Head of Eastern Department)
* 1994: UK member of Contact Group on Bosnia (International Conference on Former Yugoslavia)
* 1994–1995: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Head of Policy Planning Staff)
* 1995–1998: Tel Aviv, Israel (Ambassador)
* 1998–2000: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Deputy Under-Secretary)
* 2001: UK Delegation NATO Brussels (Ambassador)
* 2001–2003: Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister
* 2003–2007: Washington, USA (Ambassador)

==Honours and awards==
* [[File:Ord.St.Michele-Giorgio.png|40px]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) – 2008
* [[File:Royal Victorian Order UK ribbon.png|40px]] [[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] (KCVO) – 2015, CVO - 2007

==References==
{{commons category|David Manning}}
{{reflist}}

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{{succession box | before = [[Robert Andrew Burns|Sir Andrew Burns]] | title = [[British Ambassador to Israel]] | years = 1995–1998 | after = [[Francis Cornish (diplomat)|Sir Francis Cornish]]}}
{{succession box | before = [[John Goulden|Sir John Goulden]] | title = [[UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council]] | years = 2001 | after = [[Emyr Jones Parry|Sir Emyr Jones Parry]]}}
{{succession box | before = [[Christopher Meyer|Sir Christopher Meyer]] | title = [[British Ambassador to the United States]] | years = 2003–2007 | after = [[Nigel Sheinwald|Sir Nigel Sheinwald]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, David}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Ardingly College]]
[[Category:Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Israel]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States]]
[[Category:Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to NATO]]
[[Category:Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:British corporate directors]]
[[Category:Members of HM Diplomatic Service]]
[[Category:20th-century British diplomats]]