Gill Bennett

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Gill Bennett
OBE
Academic background
Alma materSomerville College, Oxford
Academic work
DisciplineHistorian
Sub-disciplineDiplomatic history, Political history
InstitutionsForeign and Commonwealth Office

Gillian Bennett is a British historian and civil servant, previously the Chief Historian of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1995 and 2005.

Career[edit]

After graduating from Somerville College, University of Oxford in 1969,[1] Bennett began her career in the Foreign Office in 1972 as a research assistant in what was then called the Historical Branch.[2] She held a number of roles within the wider FCO, and in 1995 was appointed to the newly-created position of Chief Historian.[3] In this role, she edited the documentary history of British foreign policy since 1945, Documents on British Policy Overseas, and give historical advice to ministers and officials.[4]

In 1998, FCO historians were commissioned by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to investigate the authenticity of the Zinoviev Letter,[5] and Bennett authored the report of their findings, concluding that the letter was a forgery though not likely to have been directly the work of MI6 officers.[6][7] In researching the origins of the letter, Bennett had full access to British government sources, and also drew upon Russian archival records.[8] Bennett retired from the civil service in 2005, and was succeeded as chief historian by Patrick Salmon.[9]

Since 2005, Bennett has published three monographs, Churchill's Man of Mystery: Desmond Morton and the World of Intelligence (2006),[10] Six Moments of Crisis: Inside British Foreign Policy (2013),[11][12] and The Zinoviev Letter: The Conspiracy that Never Dies (2018).[13][14]

Major publications[edit]

  • Bennett, Gill (2006). Churchill's Man of Mystery: Desmond Morton and the World of Intelligence. Government Official History Series. doi:10.4324/9780203966785. ISBN 9780415394307.
  • Bennett, Gill (2013). Six Moments of Crisis: Inside British Foreign Policy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199583751.
  • Bennett, Gill (2018). The Zinoviev Letter: The Conspiracy that Never Dies. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198767305.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Book reviews". Oxford Today. 25 (2): 55. March 2013.
  2. ^ Smith, Richard (28 November 2018). "History at the heart of diplomacy". History of government. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  3. ^ FCO Historians (2018). Women and the Foreign Office. p. 24. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Gill Bennett OBE". Royal United Services Institute. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  5. ^ Barber, Tony (19 October 2018). "The Zinoviev Letter by Gill Bennett — a mystery of revolution and attribution". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 August 2019. (Subscription required.)
  6. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 February 1999). "Zinoviev letter was dirty trick by MI6". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  7. ^ Bennett, Gill (February 1999). "'A most extraordinary and mysterious business': The Zinoviev Letter of 1924". History Notes (14). Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  8. ^ Bennett, Gill (2018). The Zinoviev Letter: The Conspiracy that Never Dies. Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780198767305.
  9. ^ FCO Historians (2018). History at the Heart of Diplomacy: Historians in the Foreign Office, 1918-2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. ^ Foot, M. R. D. (11 November 2006). "The shadowy world of secrets". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  11. ^ Hurd, Douglas (25 April 2013). "Reviewed: Six Moments of Crisis - Inside British Foreign Policy by Gill Bennett". New Statesman. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  12. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (19 February 2013). "Past crises shed light on the present". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  13. ^ Judd, Alan (18 August 2018). "Did the notorious Zinoviev letter ever exist?". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  14. ^ Udy, Giles (25 August 2018). "Review: The Zinoviev Letter: The Conspiracy That Never Dies by Gill Bennett — was it an anti-Labour plot?". The Times. Retrieved 22 August 2019. (Subscription required.)

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded byas Head of Historical Branch,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 		Chief Historian, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1995–2005 		Succeeded by
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