Mark Andrew Geoffrey Kent CMG (born Spilsby 14 January 1966) [1] is a British businessman and former diplomat [2] who served as UK ambassador to Argentina from 2016 to 2021. [3] [4] [5]
Kent was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle before he read law at Lincoln College, Oxford, [1] graduating in 1986. [6] He joined Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1987. He served in Brasilia, [6] Brussels, Mexico City and Casteau before being appointed Ambassador to Vietnam in 2007. [7] From 2012 to 2016 he was Ambassador to Thailand. [8] [9] [10]
Kent was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to British foreign policy. [11]
In 2021, Kent was appointed the ninth Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association. [12] [13] He has been Executive Chair of the Vietnam-UK Network since April 2023. [14]
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, Michael and George.
Diageo plc is a British multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits. Distilleries owned by Diageo produce 40 percent of all Scotch whisky with over 24 brands, such as Johnnie Walker, J&B and Old Parr.
Campbeltown is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky.
William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.
Jura distillery is Island single malt Scotch whisky distillery located on the island of Jura in the Inner Hebrides off the West Coast of Scotland.
Inver House Distillers Ltd. is a Scotch whisky distiller, based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The company is a subsidiary of ThaiBev, one of the largest alcoholic-beverage companies in Southeast Asia.
David George Hamilton Frost, Baron Frost is a former British diplomat, civil servant and politician who served as a Minister of State at the Cabinet Office between March and December 2021. Frost was Chief Negotiator of Task Force Europe from January 2020 until his resignation in December 2021.
Nigel Robert Haywood is a British diplomat, who served as British ambassador to Estonia from 2003 until 2008 and Governor of the Falkland Islands from 2010 until 2014.
Dame Shan Elizabeth Morgan is a former British civil servant. Formerly the Deputy Permanent Representative, UK Representation to the European Union, she was the Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government until October 2021.
Asif Ahmad is a banker-turned-diplomat, having served as a Senior Civil Servant at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. From 2017 to August 2021 he was the British High Commissioner to Jamaica. He was the British Ambassador to Thailand from November 2010 until August 2012. He was the British Ambassador to the Philippines from July 2013 to 2017. He has also been accredited to the Bahamas, Palau and Laos.
Halewood International or Halewood Artisanal Spirits PLC are UK-based distiller and distributor of artisanal spirits.
Brian John Davidson is a British diplomat who is the British Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau as of July 2021.
David Quarrey is a British diplomat and the British Ambassador to NATO since 2022. He was formerly acting National Security Adviser, having taken over the role while David Frost continued as the United Kingdom's Chief Negotiator to the European Union during the Brexit negotiations. He was the UK's Ambassador to Israel from 2015 to 2019.
There were approximately 30,000 land mines laid in British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands by Argentinian forces following their 1982 invasion. Some of the mines were cleared immediately following the successful British operation to retake the islands, but following a series of accidents, demining operations ceased. In the following years the mine fields were fenced off and, with human access limited, became havens for Falklands flora and the native penguin population. The British government ratified the Ottawa Treaty in 1998 that required the removal of all mines within its territory. Demining operations, which had to be carried out by hand due to the climate and local condition, restarted in 2009. The last mines were cleared in November 2020.
Alison Mary Blake, is a British diplomat who is currently serving as Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. She previously served as High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Afghanistan.
Sir Richard Peter Moore is a British civil servant, currently chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and formerly Director General for Political Affairs, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and previously the British ambassador to Turkey.
Nc'nean distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula of the Highlands, Scotland. The distillery is beside the Sound of Mull, opposite the Isle of Mull. The distillery name Nc'nean, comes from "Neachneohain", a Gaelic legend which translates as the Queen of Spirits.