Sir Gerald Herbert Portal was born on 13 Mar 1858 in Laverstoke, Hampshire, England. He was the second son of Melville Portal, JP (Justice of the Peace), and Lady Charlotte, daughter of the Earl of Minto. He married Lady Alice Josephine Bertie, daughter of the seventh Earl of Abingdon, in Feb 1890.

Sir Portal was educated at Eton and entered the diplomatic service in Jul 1879. After the usual period of probation in the Foreign Office, was appointed an attaché to the Embassy in Rome in Jun 1880. He became Third Secretary of Legation in Jul 1881. In Jun 1882, Portal was temporarily attached to the Consulate-General at Cairo. This was a critical period in the history of British relations with Egypt, and Portal was present at the bombardment of Alexandria (receiving for his services on that occasion a medal with clasp and the Khedive's star).

He became a favourite with Sir Evelyn Baring (afterwards Lord Cromer), the British representative, and in Apr 1884 was confirmed as Third Secretary at Cairo. In Apr 1885, he was promoted to Second Secretary. For some weeks in the summers of 1886 and 1887, Portal took charge of the residency during Lord Cromer's absence, serving as Acting Agent and Consul-General. In Oct 1887, he was ordered to attempt a reconciliation between the King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and the Italian Government. This was a difficult task and Portal was, unsurprisingly, unsuccessful. However, the efforts Portal had made in trying to achieve this reconciliation considerably enhanced his reputation and he was made CB (Companion of the Order of the Bath). He gave an account of this event in My Mission to Abyssinia (1888).

Returning to Cairo, Portal was chargé d'affaires in the autumn of 1888. From 30 Apr to 14 Nov 1889, he was Acting Consul-General at Zanzibar. During his six months' tenure of office, he tackled a complexity of problems in a manner that earned the approbation both of his colleagues and of the Foreign Office. In a letter dated 25 Nov 1889, Lord Rosebery expressed his sense of the 'singular skill and tact' that Portal had shown, and referred to the happy influence he had established over the mind of the Sultan (MSS. Afr. s. 112, fols. 215-216). After a further period in Cairo, he was permanently appointed to the post of Consul-General in Zanzibar in Mar 1891. In addition to his duties in Zanzibar, he became Consul-General for German East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi) (Jun 1891) and for British East Africa (Feb 1892). He was made KCMG (Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George) in Aug 1892.

In Dec 1892, Portal was appointed by Lord Rosebery as Special Commissioner to Uganda, and journeyed to Uganda to report on whether the country should be retained by the British or evacuated. During this expedition, Portal lost his elder brother, Captain Melville Raymond Portal (1856-1893), who was with him as Chief Military Officer. Portal arrived in London in Nov 1893. He had sent in his reports on Uganda and completed the greater part of a book relating his experiences, when he died due to recurrence of malaria after his return to England, followed by typhoid, on 25 Jan 1894. His book on The British Mission to Uganda was published a few months later. His recommendation that the British Government should retain Uganda was ultimately adopted.

Compiled with reference to the Dictionary of National Biography.