Ivor Lucas was born on 25 July 1927, the 2nd son of George William Lucas, 1st Baron Lucas of Chilworth, and Sonia Lucas. He was educated at St Edward’s School, Oxford, before going on to Trinity College, University of Oxford, and in 1954 married Christine Mallorie Coleman, having three sons.

Lucas entered the Diplomatic Service in 1951, having previously served in the Royal Artillery as a Captain (1945-48). His career included: Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Lebanon (1952); 3rd, later 2nd Secretary, at Bahrain, Sharjah [United Arab Emirates] and Dubai (1952-56); Foreign Office (1956-59); 1st Secretary, Karachi [Pakistan] (1959-62); 1st Secretary and Head of Chancery, Tripoli [Libya] (1962-66); Foreign Office (1966-68); Counsellor, Aden [Adan, South Yemen, later part of Yemen] (1968-69) (Chargé d’Affaires, August 1968-February 1969); Deputy High Commissioner, Kaduna [Nigeria] (1969-71); Counsellor, Copenhagen [Denmark] (1972-75); Head of Middle East Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1975-79); Ambassador to Oman (1979-81); Ambassador to Syria (1982-84). Lucas died on 7 April 2018.