James Hennessy

Who is James Hennessy?

Sir James Patrick Ivan Hennessy KBE CMG is a retired British diplomat and served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons from 1982 to 1987.

Educated at Bedford School and then King's College, Durham, Hennessy aged 21 joined the Royal Artillery in 1942, later being seconded to the Indian Army in 1944 until 1946.

After the War, Hennessy joined what was then HM Overseas Service, serving initially in Basutoland, South Africa from 1948 in a number of roles, seconded in 1961 to the Office of the High Commissioner in Pretoria and taking on a number of positions in the government of South Africa. He retired from the Overseas Service in 1968 and was appointed to the Foreign Office, serving as Chargé d'Affaires to Montevideo, Uruguay for 1971–72, and then High Commissioner to Kampala, Uganda and non-resident Ambassador to Kigali, Rwanda, 1973–76. He served as Consul-General in Cape Town from 1977 to 1980, before ending his career as the last Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British Honduras from 1980–1981.

In 1982, Hennessy was appointed as the second ever HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, taking over from Philip Barry to serve a five-year term until 1987.