Dennis Amy was born 21 October 1932, son of the late George Arthur Amy and Isabella Thompson (née Crosby); he was educated at Southall Grammar School; in 1956 he married Helen Rosamunde, daughter of the late Wilfred Leslie Clemens.

Amy entered the Foreign, later the Diplomatic Service in 1949, and his career included: Foreign Office, 1949-51 and 1953-58; Athens [Greece], 1958-61; Second Secretary and Vice Consul, Moscow [Soviet Union], 1961-63; FO, 1963-65; DSAO, 1965; Second Secretary and Passport Officer, Canberra [Australia], 1966-70; First Secretary, Ibadan [Nigeria], 1971-74; seconded to Department of Trade, 1974-75; Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1976-78; First Secretary (Commercial), Santiago [Chile], 1978-83 (Chargé d’Affaires, 1979); FCO, 1983-86 (Counsellor, 1985-86); Consul General, Bordeaux [France], 1986-89; Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, 1990-92, and Ambassador (non-resident) to Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros, 1991-92. Amy died on 18 August 2016.

He was awarded the CMG in 1992; OBE 1984.