Background
Born in India, the son of Joseph O'Brien, he belonged to a long line of British civil servants who served the Indian Empire. When he was eleven his father retired and settled in the English county of Norfolk.
Born in India, the son of Joseph O'Brien, he belonged to a long line of British civil servants who served the Indian Empire. When he was eleven his father retired and settled in the English county of Norfolk.
O'Brien was educated at Gresham's School, Holt and Merton College, Oxford, where he was a Postmaster Scholar.
He arrived at Oxford in 1939, and his university career was soon interrupted by the Second World War. In 1947, O'Brien joined the Dominions Office, then was at the Commonwealth Relations Office from 1947 to 1949. From 1950 to 1952, he was at the British High Commission in Ceylon, then was seconded to the Treasury from 1953 to 1956.
He was First Secretary (Financial) at the British High Commission in Australia from 1956 to 1958, and later joined the British Diplomatic Service. His subsequent career was spent in South and South East Asia. He was appointed British ambassador to Nepal in 1970.
In Kathmandu he invented the sport of duck racing. He next went as ambassador to Indonesia in 1978, then presided over by Suharto, where he faced the challenge of a trade war between Britain and Indonesia. He retired to Dorset in 1981, where he spent much of his time trout fishing.
When he died in 2006, he was living at Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Diplomatic career summary Dominions Office, 1947 Commonwealth Relations Office, 1947 to 1949 British High Commission, Ceylon, 1950 to 1952 seconded to the Treasury, 1953 to 1956 British High Commission, Australia, 1958 to 1960 First Secretary, Kuala Lumpur, 1960 to 1962 Secretary to Intergovermental Committee, Jesselton, Sabah, 1962–63 Head of Chancery, New Delhi, 1963 to 1966 Counsellor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1968 to 1970 Ambassador to Nepal, 1970 to 1974 Ambassador to Burma, 1974 to 1978 Ambassador to Indonesia, 1978 to 1981 O'Brien married Phyllis Mitchell in 1950, but she died of polio in 1952.
After the war, he returned to Oxford to complete his degree and was an active member of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.
Married 1st Phyllis Mitchell in 1950 (died in 1952), 2nd Rita Reynolds in 1953.