Donald Maitland

Who was Donald Maitland?

Sir Donald Maitland, GCMG OBE was a senior British diplomat. He served as British Prime Minister Edward Heath's press secretary 1970 to 1974.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Maitland was educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh.

Maitland joined the Foreign Service in 1947. After serving as Heath's press secretary, he was appointed as Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations.

Maitland's expertise was in the Middle East where he served during World War II. Between 1956 and 1960 he was Director of the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Lebanon. In 1967 he became Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary and later Ambassador to Libya.

In June 1980 he was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department of Energy, until his retirement from the civil service in December 1982.

Maitland lived near Bradford on Avon, and was a pro-chancellor of the University of Bath from 1997 to 2000. He married in 1950, and had a son and a daughter.

In 1995, he was awarded an Honorary Degree by the University of Bath.