diplomat who, as British ambassador to the United States, negotiated the controversial Clayton–Bulwer Treaty (April 19, 1850), which concerned in part the possibility of a canal traversing Central America and was also intended to resolve (but in fact aggravated) various Anglo-American disputes in Latin America.

After studying at Harrow and at Trinity and Downing colleges, Cambridge, Bulwer joined the British Army and then, in 1829, entered the diplomatic service. In 1838 he negotiated the Ponsonby Treaty with Turkey, which secured important advantages for British trade in the Ottoman Empire. In 1843 he was appointed ambassador to Spain. Sympathetic to the cause of Spanish constitutionalism, he was expelled from the country in 1848 by the dictator Ramón Narváez.

As ambassador to the United States (1849–52), Bulwer gained considerable popularity there, which assisted his conclusion of the treaty bearing his name and that of the U.S. secretary of state, John Middleton Clayton. Although ratified by both nations, the treaty itself was unpopular in the United States because of its concessions to Great Britain.

In 1856 Bulwer played a major part in the negotiations following the Crimean War. His last diplomatic assignment was as ambassador at Constantinople (1858–65). He was raised to the peerage in 1871. He, with Evelyn Ashley, wrote a five-volume, official biography (1870–76) of Lord Palmerston. Bulwer was an older brother of the famous novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton.