David Kelly (14 September 1891 – 27 March 1959) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to Switzerland, Argentina, Turkey, and the Soviet Union.
Biography[]
David Kelly was educated at Magdelen College, Oxford, and he served as a brigade intelligence officer in the British Army during World War I shortly after being admitted to the Foreign Service. He joined the Diplomatic Service after leaving the war as a decorated soldier, serving in Argentina, Portugal, Mexico, Belgium, Sweden, and Egypt before becoming ambassador to Switzerland in 1940. While there, the German ambassador Baron von Richter attempted to convince Kelly to make peace between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany during World War II, but Kelly lost his temper, and Richter left, disappointed. Kelly later served as ambassador to Argentina, Turkey, and the Soviet Union, and he retired in 1951. He died in 1959.