AustLit

David Roberts, son of a clergyman, became a full-time writer and resident of Perth after a varied international career. His obituary in the London Times described him as 'a highly respected diplomat who had served as Britain's ambassador to Syria, the United Arab Emirates and the Lebanon'. Roberts wrote his 1987 book, The Ba'Ath and the Creation of Modern Syria, after thirty-six years of experience, mainly in the Middle East, with the British Foreign Service.

Roberts spent three years in the Royal Armoured Corps after attending Hereford Cathedral School and Jesus College, Oxford, and joined the foreign service in 1947. Cities he served in include Baghdad, Iraq; Tokyo, Japan; Dakar, Senegal; and Damascus, Syria. In 1966 Roberts became a political agent in the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates). His positions from 1971 to 1983 included high commissioner to Barbados and to Sierra Leone. After his retirement from the foreign service, Roberts served as director general of the Middle East Association and chair of the British Lebanese Association. Roberts has been knighted and named a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George and a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

Source for most details: Contemporary Authors Online (2003)