Charles James Treadwell

From the Times, 8 April 2010:

James Treadwell played a significant part in the transformation of the political landscape of the Middle East. When he arrived in Abu Dhabi as a political agent in 1968 Britain still had treaty relationships with the nine rulers of the Gulf States, which included responsibility for foreign affairs and defence, as well as jurisdiction over non-Muslims. Abu Dhabi, not long before his arrival, had been ruled by the elderly Sheikh Shakhbut, who had found it impossible to cope with the arrival of undreamt-of wealth in the form of oil revenues. Whether, as was sometimes suggested, he actually kept his money under the bed is uncertain, but he was certainly uncomfortable with banks. Shakhbut was eventually elbowed aside in favour of his brother, Zaid, who saw the necessity for development and soon became an enthusiastic spender on infrastructure projects. As a result, Abu Dhabi was rapidly transformed from a small and sandy settlement, with rather few buildings, into a major metropolis of steel and concrete.

The task on which Treadwell found himself engaged — one that was given added urgency by the decision of the British government to bring the treaty relationships to an end and to withdraw military forces from the Gulf — was the creation of a political union between the Gulf rulers. Initially this effort embraced all nine states, but later Bahrain and Qatar decided to go their separate ways, leaving the seven emirates of the lower Gulf (the Trucial States) to work out their own salvation. Because of its already substantial oil revenues, Abu Dhabi’s position in these negotiations was always paramount, though the shrewd Sheikh Rashid of Dubai drove a very hard bargain, and the negotiations frequently faltered. Britain played no direct role, but was highly active behind the scenes, encouraging the rulers to compose their differences.

Sheikh Zaid’s own response to the many setbacks in the negotiations was often to seek out the solitude of the Buraimi oasis, which in those days meant a drive of several hours across the sand dunes of the interior. Treadwell would sometimes arrive towards sunset to find the Ruler stretched out incognito by a well, with only a small group of retainers. The ensuing discussions (always in Arabic — Zaid spoke virtually no English) were conducted on the sand until eventually terminated by the call to prayer. Treadwell would spend the night in the whitewashed and crenellated Buraimi fort, manned at that time by the Trucial Oman Scouts, before resuming his dialogue with Zaid the following morning.

The United Arab Emirates, with Sheikh Zaid as its President, eventually came into being on December 2 1971. Treadwell was only one of a team of midwives at a difficult and protracted birth, but his personal rapport with Sheikh Zaid had undoubtedly been a key factor in persuading him to sustain the dialogue with his fellow Rulers. Treadwell himself became the first British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and he remained at Abu Dhabi until 1973.

Charles James Treadwell was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1920, the son of a barrister. He was educated at Wellington College and at Victoria University, Wellington. During the war he served in the Middle East, Palestine, Libya and Egypt. In 1945 he joined the Sudan Political Service and was one of the last of a distinguished group of diplomats that emerged from Sudan, bringing a wealth of administrative experience and a fluent, often self-taught, brand of Arabic, both of which they used to great effect in subsequent Middle East postings.

After assignments to the Blue Nile and Equatoria Province, he joined the legal department and, in 1954, became province judge on the Kassala circuit. In 1955 immediately prior to Sudanese independence, he transferred to the Foreign Office. Prior to his appointment to Abu Dhabi he served in Lahore, Ankara, Jedda, and (as Deputy High Commissioner) in Eastern Nigeria.

After his stint in Abu Dhabi, Treadwell was appointed first British High Commissioner to the Bahamas, but his heart was not in the job, which proved, as he later remarked, to be rather like running a high-class hotel for visiting British VIPs. He was thus more than happy to be transferred, after only two years, to Oman, where Sultan Qaboos, with oil revenues more modest than those of Abu Dhabi but still substantial, was in the process of transforming an almost feudal society (his father had kept slaves) into a modern state. This was Treadwell’s last post and one for which all his experience and skills made him admirably qualified. Not least of these was a striking personal charm, combined with a happy knack of not taking himself too seriously.

He was appointed CMG in 1972 and (following the Queen’s State visit to Oman) CVO in 1979.

Charles James Treadwell, diplomat, was born on February 10, 1920. He died on January 7, 2010, aged 89