Peter Unwin obituary

Other lives: Diplomat who served as British ambassador to Hungary and Denmark

My father, Peter Unwin, who has died aged 93, was a distinguished diplomat, author and commentator on foreign affairs. His main area of expertise was central Europe, and he was posted to Budapest twice, first as third secretary (1958-61) and then as ambassador (1983-86), hosting the visit of the then British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and encouraging the opening up to the west. In 1991, he wrote Voice in the Wilderness, his biography of Imre Nagy, the reformist Hungarian prime minister, who was executed for standing up to the Soviet Union.

Throughout his life Peter championed the causes of democracy, international norms and the rule of law. His first job in the Foreign Service was in 1956 in the Levant department. As he confessed later: “There I sat, bemused, right through the Suez crisis, and it only gradually dawned on me that most of the people round me had no idea of what was going on either.”

Born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, to Nora (nee McDonnell) and Arnold Unwin, a businessman, Peter attended Ampleforth college, and won a scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied history. In 1955 he married Monica Steven, the daughter of refugees from Nazi Germany, and together they made a formidable partnership: her joie de vivre and sense of style matched by his quiet intellectualism and gentle decency.

After completing his national service in the Intelligence Corps, Peter joined the Foreign Service. After Budapest, he was posted to Tokyo (1961-63), New York (1967-70) and twice to Bonn (1973-76, 1980-83). He held three positions at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London in the 1960s and 70s, enjoyed a sabbatical at Harvard in the US in 1979, and his last two jobs were as the British ambassador in Copenhagen (1986-89) and deputy secretary general of the Commonwealth (1989-93). He was made CMG in 1981.

Peter wrote extensively about foreign affairs, and his seven books include Hearts, Minds and Interests (1998), Where East Meets West (2000) and the edited Newcomers’ Lives (2013), a collection of obituaries from the Times of people who had come to Britain as immigrants. He was a passionate European who despaired of Brexit and warned of American overreach. Peter was exceptionally fair minded. We used to joke that if you asked him a question about current affairs, he would declare: “There are six ways of looking at this,” and proceed to explain them all.

He detested snobbery and was wary of elitism. In retirement, particularly in his last years, he was known for his impeccable manners. He was a lifelong Catholic of quiet, determined faith.

He is survived by Monica, their children, Julia, Paul, Jo and me, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.