Peter Ramsbotham, British ambassador to Washington during Watergate era, has died aged 90

UK ambassador to Washington in 1970s has died

LONDON — Peter Ramsbotham, who served as Britain’s ambassador to Washington during the Watergate era, died Friday, his family said. He was 90.

Zaida Ramsbotham said her husband died of pneumonia at their family home in the village of Ovington in southern England. She said he had been ailing for a long time.

Ramsbotham’s son Oliver described his father as an old-guard diplomat who “was in nearly all the key spots.”

Educated at Eton and Oxford, Ramsbotham served in the British Intelligence Corps during and after World War II, ferreting out German spies and former Nazis. He joined Britain’s Foreign Office in 1948, serving in Berlin and at the United Nations in New York before being promoted to High Commissioner in Cyprus to 1969.

Ramsbotham served as ambassador to Iran from 1971 to 1974 before moving on the United States, where Richard Nixon was already absorbed with the scandal which would eventually destroy his presidency. The ambassador would stay on through the administrations of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

In a 2001 interview, Ramsbotham described service in Washington as “just my cup of tea.” Both his wife and son said he loved it there.

The diplomat then served as governor of Bermuda before retiring.

He is survived by his wife as well as Oliver and another son — both born of a previous marriage.

Zaida Ramsbotham said a private funeral would be followed at some point by a remembrance service.