Geoffrey Jackson

Sir Geoffrey Holt Seymour Jackson, KCMG (March 4, 1915 — October 1, 1987) was a British diplomat and writer.

Jackson received his education at Bolton School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He entered the Foreign Service in 1937, his first ambassadorship coming in 1957, a post in Honduras. In 1969, he became ambassador in Uruguay. He was kidnapped by Tupamaros guerrillas in 1971, enduring a captivity of eight months. After his release he went back to work for the Foreign Office. He worked for the BBC after his diplomatic retirement in 1975.

Kidnapping

Jackson was kidnapped by Tupamaros guerrillas on January 8, 1971, in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was released after eight months of captivity, on September 9, 1971. Later it became known that Edward Heath, the British prime minister at that time, negotiated a deal for Jackson's release. ₤42,000 was paid for his release, which was brokered by Salvador Allende, the Chilean president who enjoyed contacts with the Tupamaros rebels.cite news | title = Obituary of Sir Geoffrey Jackson: Stoical Guerrilla Hostage | publisher = The Times | date = 1987-10-02] cite news | title = Heath's Secret Deal to Free Ambassador Chile | publisher = Daily Telegraph | date = 2002-01-01]

Books

*cite book | author = Geoffrey Jackson | title = The Oven-Bird | year = 1972
*cite book | author = Geoffrey Jackson | title = People's Prison | year = 1973
*cite book | author = Geoffrey Jackson | title = Surviving the Long Night | year = 1974
*cite book | author = Geoffrey Jackson | title = Concorde Diplomacy | year = 1981

References

*cite news | title = Obituary of Sir Geoffrey Jackson: Stoical Guerrilla Hostage | publisher = The Times | date = 1987-10-02

External links

* [http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FJAKN The Papers of Sir Geoffrey Jackson]