James Craig was born 13 July 1924, son of James Craig and Florence Morris. He was educated at Liverpool Institute High School, then Queen’s College, University of Oxford. In 1952 he married (1st) Margaret Hutchinson (who died in 2001), having three sons and one daughter; then in 2002 married (2nd) Bernadette Hartley Lane.

After serving in the Army, 1943-44, Craig returned to Oxford to finish his degree, taking a 1st in Oriental Studies (Arabic and Persian) in 1947, then continued working in Arabic as a student at Cairo University, 1950-51, while also holding the post of Lecturer in Arabic at Durham University, 1948-55. At the end of this time he was seconded to the Foreign Office in 1955 as Principal Instructor at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Lebanon (MECAS), and joined the Foreign Service substantively in 1956. Following this Craig's diplomatic career included: Foreign Office, 1958-61; Political Agent, Trucial States [later United Arab Emirates], 1961-64; 1st Secretary, Beirut [Lebanon], 1964-67; Counsellor and Head of Chancery, Jedda [Saudi Arabia], 1967-70; Supernumerary Fellow, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, 1970-71; Head of Near East and North Africa Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1971-75; Deputy High Commissioner, Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], 1975-76; Ambassador to Syria, 1976-79; Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, 1979-84. Craig died on 26 September 2017.