Editing Lord Mountbatten (section)

== Later career ==
[[File:Lord Louis Mountbatten Visits Malayan Contingent, Kensington Gardens, London, England, UK, 1946 D28023.jpg|thumbnail|right|Mountbatten inspects Malayan troops in [[Kensington Gardens]] in 1946]]
After India, Mountbatten served as commander of the [[1st Cruiser Squadron]] in the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] and, having been granted the [[substantive rank]] of [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|vice-admiral]] on 22 June 1949,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38681 |date=2 August 1949 |page=3760}}</ref> he became Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1950.<ref name=heath189/> He became [[Fourth Sea Lord]] at the Admiralty in June 1950. He then returned to the Mediterranean to serve as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and [[NATO]] Commander [[Allied Forces Mediterranean]] from June 1952.<ref name=heath189/> He was promoted to the substantive rank of full admiral on 27 February 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=39802 |date=17 March 1953 |page=1530}}</ref> In March 1953, he was appointed Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen.<ref name='Oxford'>{{Cite book |title=Mountbatten, Louis |publisher=[[Oxford Biography Index]] |doi = 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U157802|chapter = Mountbatten of Burma, 1st Earl, (Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten) (25 June 1900 – 27 Aug. 1979)|work=Who Was Who |year = 2007}}</ref>

[[File:HMS Glasgow Mounbatten.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Mountbatten arrives on board {{HMS|Glasgow|C21|6}} at Malta to assume command of the Mediterranean Fleet, 16 May 1952]]
Mountbatten served his final posting at the Admiralty as [[First Sea Lord]] and Chief of the Naval Staff from April 1955 to July 1959, the position which his father had held some forty years before. This was the first time in Royal Naval history that a father and son had both attained such high office.<ref name="harvp|Patton|2005|pp=14–17">{{harvp|Patton|2005|pp=14–17}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] on 22 October 1956.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=40927 |date=16 November 1956 |page=6492}}</ref>

In the [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956, Mountbatten strongly advised his old friend Prime Minister [[Anthony Eden]] against the Conservative government's plans to seize the [[Suez Canal]] in conjunction with France and Israel. He argued that such a move would destabilize the Middle East, undermine the authority of the United Nations, divide the Commonwealth and diminish Britain's global standing. His advice was not taken. Eden insisted that Mountbatten not resign. Instead, he worked hard to prepare the Royal Navy for war with characteristic professionalism and thoroughness.<ref>{{Harvp|Ziegler|1985|pp=537–547}}</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Smith|2012|pp=489–508}}</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Smith|2013|pp=105–134}}</ref>

Despite his military rank, Mountbatten was ignorant as to the physics involved in a nuclear explosion and had to be reassured that the fission reactions from the [[Bikini Atoll tests]] would not spread through the oceans and blow up the planet.<ref>{{harvp|Zuckerman|1981|p=363}}</ref> As Mountbatten became more familiar with this new form of weaponry, he increasingly grew opposed to its use in combat. Yet, he realised the potential for nuclear energy, especially with regard to submarines. Mountbatten expressed his feelings towards the use of nuclear weapons in combat in his article "A Military Commander Surveys The Nuclear Arms Race", which was published shortly after his death in ''International Security'' in the Winter of 1979–1980.<ref>{{harvp|Mountbatten|1979–1980}}</ref>

After leaving the Admiralty, Mountbatten took the position of [[Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Defence Staff]].<ref name=heath189/> He served in this post for six years during which he was able to consolidate the three service departments of the military branch into a single [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref name=heath190>{{harvp|Heathcote|2002|p=190}}.</ref> [[Ian Jacob]], co-author of the 1963 ''Report on the Central Organisation of Defence'' that served as the basis of these reforms, described Mountbatten as "universally mistrusted in spite of his great qualities".<ref name=healey258>{{harvp|Healey|1989|p=258}}.</ref> On their [[1964 United Kingdom general election|election in October 1964]], the [[Labour government, 1964-1970|Wilson ministry]] had to decide whether to renew his appointment the following July. The [[Secretary of State for Defence|Defence Secretary]], [[Denis Healey]], interviewed the forty most senior officials in the Ministry of Defence; only one, [[Kenneth Strong|Sir Kenneth Strong]], a personal friend of Mountbatten, recommended his reappointment.<ref name=healey258/> "When I told Dickie of my decision not to reappoint him," recalls Healey, "he slapped his thigh and roared with delight; but his eyes told a different story."<ref name=healey258/>

Mountbatten was appointed [[Colonel of the Regiment|Colonel]] of [[Life Guards (United Kingdom)|The Life Guards]] and [[Gold Stick in Waiting]] on 29 January 1965<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=43563|supp=y|page=1147|date=2 February 1965}}</ref> and Life [[Colonel commandant#United Kingdom|Colonel Commandant]] of the [[Royal Marines]] the same year.<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=43731|page=7446|date=6 August 1965}}</ref> He was [[Governor of the Isle of Wight]] from 20 July 1965<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=43720 |date=23 July 1965 |page=7029}}</ref> and then the first [[Lord Lieutenant]] of the [[Isle of Wight]] from 1 April 1974.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=46255 |date=4 April 1974 |page=4399}}</ref>

[[File:KN-C17494. President John F. Kennedy Meets with Lord Louis Mountbatten.jpg|thumb|Mountbatten with [[John F. Kennedy]] in the Oval Office, Washington, D.C., 11 April 1961]]
[[File:Louis Mountbatten visit to Israel (997009932856605171).jpg|thumb|Louis Mountbatten during a 1967 visit to Israel]]
Mountbatten was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]<ref name="Zuckerman"/> and had received an honorary doctorate from [[Heriot-Watt University]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm |title=Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates |last= |website=www1.hw.ac.uk |access-date=11 April 2016 |archive-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418163907/http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1969, Mountbatten tried unsuccessfully to persuade his second cousin, the Spanish pretender [[Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona]], to ease the eventual accession of his son, [[Juan Carlos]], to the Spanish throne by signing a declaration of abdication while in exile.<ref name="powell">{{harvp|Powell|1996 |pp=50–51, 221–222}}.</ref> The next year Mountbatten attended an official White House dinner during which he took the opportunity to have a 20-minute conversation with [[Richard Nixon]] and Secretary of State [[William P. Rogers]], about which he later wrote, "I was able to talk to the President a bit about both Tino [Constantine II of Greece] and Juanito [Juan Carlos of Spain] to try and put over their respective points of view about Greece and Spain, and how I felt the US could help them."<ref name="powell"/> In January 1971, Nixon hosted Juan Carlos and his wife [[Queen Sofia of Spain|Sofia]] (sister of the exiled King Constantine) during a visit to Washington and later that year ''[[The Washington Post]]'' published an article alleging that Nixon's administration was seeking to persuade Franco to retire in favour of the young Bourbon prince.<ref name="powell"/>

From 1967 until 1978, Mountbatten was president of the [[United World Colleges]] Organisation, then represented by a single college: that of [[Atlantic College]] in South Wales. Mountbatten supported the United World Colleges and encouraged heads of state, politicians, and personalities throughout the world to share his interest. Under his presidency and personal involvement, the United World College of South East Asia was established in Singapore in 1971, followed by the [[United World College of the Pacific]] in [[Victoria, British Columbia]], in 1974. In 1978, Mountbatten passed the presidency of the college to his great-nephew, [[Charles, Prince of Wales]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uwc.nl/en/who-we-are/history |title= History |publisher= UWC |access-date= 20 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140108081504/http://www.uwc.nl/en/who-we-are/history |archive-date= 8 January 2014 }}</ref>

Mountbatten also helped to launch the [[International Baccalaureate]]; in 1971 he presented the first IB diplomas in the Greek Theatre of the [[International School of Geneva]], Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibo.org/ib-world-archive/september-2013-issue-68/where-are-they-now2/ |title=Where are they now? – International Baccalaureate® |date=May 2015 |publisher=Ibo.org |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118012623/https://www.ibo.org/ib-world-archive/september-2013-issue-68/where-are-they-now2/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ecolint.ch/overview/our-history |title=Ecolint – Swiss International school in Geneva |publisher=Ecolint.ch |date=17 September 1924 |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717083419/https://www.ecolint.ch/overview/our-history |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1133258.pdf|title=The International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme: An International Gateway to Higher Education and Beyond|access-date=26 April 2020|archive-date=16 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116153757/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1133258.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1975 Mountbatten finally visited the [[Soviet Union]], leading the delegation from UK as personal representative of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] at the celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of Victory Day in Second World War in Moscow.<ref>{{harvp|Barratt|Ritchie|1991|p=162}}</ref>