secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 1984 to 1988.

Carrington was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst). After service in World War II, he became a junior minister under Winston Churchill. He entered Alexander Douglas-Home's Cabinet in 1963 and, after the Conservative defeat in the general election of 1964, led the opposition in the House of Lords. With the Conservatives back in power in 1970, he became defense secretary and, in the last days of the Edward Heath government, energy secretary.

When a Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher was formed in 1979, Carrington became foreign secretary. His charm and diplomatic skills enabled him to achieve a negotiated independence for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and an end to the bloody civil war there in 1979–80. He then turned his attention to the Middle East and at the same time sought negotiated solutions to Britain's residual colonial problems. In April 1982 he resigned his post amid harsh criticism of his misreading of the intentions of the Argentine government regarding the Falkland Islands.

Carrington became secretary-general of NATO in June 1984. He emphasized the importance of communication with the Soviet Union, believing that issue to be central to the restoration of public confidence in NATO.