Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia, and the northern half of the nation is surrounded by Guinea. Covering a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with diverse environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. Freetown is the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are subdivided into 16 districts.
The British Deputy High Commission, Chennai is the United Kingdom diplomatic mission with responsibility for the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It was formed in 1947 with Sir Christopher Masterman, CSI, CIE, as its inaugural holder, who served as Deputy High Commissioner until the following year. The Deputy High Commissioner is equivalent to a Consul-General, and reports to the British High Commission. The current Deputy High Commissioner is Oliver Ballhatchet. He succeeds Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford.
Sir Stephen Olver was a British diplomat who was High Commissioner to Sierra Leone and Cyprus.
Dame Sarah MacIntosh is a British diplomat who is the Deputy National Security Adviser for International Affairs. She previously served as High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Ambassador to Liberia and British Ambassador to NATO from 2017 to 2022.
