Denis Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow

Denis Arthur Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow GCMG OBE (7 November 1913 – 8 November 2000) was the British Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 1973; a respected expert on the US, Europe and the Soviet Union, he was actively involved in setting postwar Britain's role in the world in a new direction, away from its imperial past and a compliant involvement with the United States towards a more active engagement in Europe.

Noted for his poor treatment of the Chagos Islanders in August 1966, along with Sir Paul Gore-Booth, forcibly removed some 2,000 natives from their land referring to them as "some Tarzans or Men Fridays".

[citation needed] He served as counsellor (and later minister) at the British Embassy in Washington, at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1963).

[citation needed] In the event, he was liked and respected by colleagues, his managerial skills were valued and his advice was highly regarded by ministers.

His later years included roles as governor of the BBC and as a director of BAT Industries, Hawker Siddeley Group, Wellcome Foundation, Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance, S.G. Warburg and Leyland International.