33 Facts About Christopher Meyer

Sir Christopher John Rome Meyer was a British diplomat who served as the Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador to Germany, and the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.

Reginald was a flight lieutenant in Coastal Command of the RAF who was killed in action over the Greek island of Icaria 13 days before his son was born; in 2011, Christopher Meyer visited the island and met witnesses of the shooting-down and burial of his father.

Christopher Meyer was educated at Lancing College, a boarding independent school for boys, near the town of Lancing in West Sussex, the Lycee Henri-IV in Paris and Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated in History.

Christopher Meyer began his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1966 in the West and Central African Department as desk officer for French-speaking African countries.

Christopher Meyer was then sent from 1978 to 1982 to the UK permanent representation to the European Communities in Brussels, followed by two years as political counsellor in the British embassy in Moscow.

Christopher Meyer returned to London in 1984 to become press secretary to the Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, a position which he occupied until 1988, when he went for a year to Harvard University's Centre for International Affairs as a visiting fellow.

Christopher Meyer returned to London in 1994 to become Prime Minister John Major's press secretary and government spokesman.

Christopher Meyer was posted briefly to Germany as ambassador in 1997, but was transferred in the same year to Washington as Britain's ambassador to the United States.

Christopher Meyer's final posting was as British Ambassador to the United States from 1997 until his retirement in 2003.

Christopher Meyer underwent emergency heart surgery just before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Christopher Meyer gave evidence about his time in the role to the Iraq Inquiry in November 2009.

Christopher Meyer was appointed chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, the UK press's self-regulating body, in March 2003.

Christopher Meyer was responsible for developing the PCC's pre-publication activity, including its anti-harassment service, which proved highly effective in protecting people from the unwanted attention of media scrums.

Christopher Meyer's tenure coincided with the gaoling in 2007 of the News of the World reporter, Clive Goodman, and the enquiry agent, Glenn Mulcaire, for phone hacking offences under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

Later, as the phone hacking scandal spread, the PCC, and Christopher Meyer himself, were criticised for not having done more to punish those responsible.

Christopher Meyer had himself reminded the Leveson Inquiry in his witness statement, submitted on 14 September 2011, and at his appearance before the Inquiry on 31 January 2012 that phone hacking was a crime under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and that it was not in the remit of the PCC either to apply the criminal law or to carry out investigations that rightfully belonged to the police.

Christopher Meyer was a non-executive director of the Arbuthnot Banking Group.

Christopher Meyer was chairman of the Advisory Board of Pagefield and an honorary fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge University.

Christopher Meyer was a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and a Freeman of the City of London and, on 3 April 2012, he was appointed Court Assistant honoris causa by the Company.

From 2013 Christopher Meyer was a Senior Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute.

Christopher Meyer was named in 2010 the Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina.

Christopher Meyer published his memoirs, DC Confidential, in November 2005, with extracts serialised in The Guardian and the Daily Mail.

Christopher Meyer gave a detailed rebuttal of his critics in written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Select Committee on Public Administration.

Christopher Meyer was again in the news with this book, serialised this time in The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph, and again openly critical of the Labour Government under which he served.

In November 2013 Christopher Meyer published a third book, the Amazon Kindle single, Only Child, a personal memoir of his childhood interwoven with the story of how his father was shot down and killed in the Second World War.

Christopher Meyer presented several television and radio documentaries on diplomacy for the BBC, including Mortgaged to the Yanks, Corridors of Power, How to Succeed at Summits, and Lying Abroad, all for BBC Radio 4 in 2006 and 2007.

Christopher Meyer frequently appeared on news and current affairs programmes, for example, providing analysis for the BBC's coverage of President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain in May 2011.

Christopher Meyer married Francoise Winskill in 1976; they had two sons and later divorced.

Christopher Meyer sat on the board of the charity his wife founded, PACT.

Christopher Meyer was admitted to hospital on the afternoon of 11 July 2018 after an alleged attack by two youths at London Victoria station.

Christopher Meyer was 74 at the time, and had been doing a significant amount of television work regarding US President Donald Trump's UK visit.

However a witness later came forward to claim that Christopher Meyer was not attacked and that he was injured after accidentally falling over.

Christopher Meyer died on 27 July 2022, aged 78, at his holiday home in Megeve, in the French Alps.