This article needs to be updated.(October 2023) |
Neil Wigan | |
---|---|
British High Commissioner to Kenya | |
Assumed office 16 August 2023 | |
Monarch | Charles III |
Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Jane Marriott |
British Ambassador to Israel | |
In office 13 June 2019 –16 August 2023 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Prime Minister | |
Preceded by | David Quarrey |
Succeeded by | Simon Walters |
British Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo | |
In office 2010–2013 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Nicholas Kay |
Succeeded by | Diane Corner |
Personal details | |
Nationality | British |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | University of Oxford University of London Johns Hopkins University |
Occupation | Diplomat |
Desmond Patrick Neil Wigan CVO OBE is a British diplomat who is the current British High Commissioner to Kenya. He previously served as the UK Ambassador to Somalia from 2013 to 2015. [1] He also served as the British ambassador to Israel,June 2019 to June 2023,replacing David Quarrey. [2] In June 2023,he was appointed the British High Commissioner to Kenya,replacing Jane Marriott.
Wigan studied at the University of Oxford,where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history. He also has an MSc in economics from the University of London and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. [1]
Wigan is married,and has two children. [1] His wife,Yael,is Israeli,and he can speak basic Hebrew,which he learned from his wife and from watching Israeli shows on Netflix. [3]
Wigan joined the London-based Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2000. He initially was an Advisor in charge of UK's Economic Policies in the European Union,a position he held for two years. From August 2002 to January 2006,he was the Head of the Political Section at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv,Israel. Wigan subsequently acted as the Head of the Middle East and North Africa Group in London between February 2006 and April 2008. He later was the deputy director for Wider World in the Cabinet Office's Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat. In March 2010,he was also named as the UK Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [1]
In June 2013,Wigan was appointed as the UK Ambassador to Somalia, [4] based at the British Embassy in Mogadishu. On 16 March 2015,Harriet Mathews was appointed as Wigan's successor as Ambassador;Wigan was to be transferred to another Diplomatic Service appointment. [5]
Wigan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours. [6]
Wigan became Britain's ambassador to Israel in June 2019. [7]
In April 2023,he was appointed as the UK High Commissioner to Kenya,replacing Jane Marriott. [8]
He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in December 2023 in connection to Their Majesty’s State Visit to Kenya,with the appointment backdated to the date of the state visit. [9]
Foreign relations of the Republic of Somaliland are the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland. The region's self-declaration of independence remains unrecognised by the international community.
Nigel Marcus Baker is a British diplomat,who was formerly Ambassador to Bolivia and Ambassador to the Holy See. He was Head of the Latin America department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2016 to 2019,and in August 2020 took up his appointment as British Ambassador to Slovakia.
Jean Francois Gordon was the British Ambassador to Algeria from 1996 to 1999,Ambassador to the Ivory Coast from 2001 to 2004 and High Commissioner to Uganda from 2005 to 2008.
Paul Damian Madden is a retired British diplomat,who was High Commissioner to Singapore and to Australia,and Ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2021.
Somalia–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Somalia and the United Kingdom.
Matt Baugh is a British diplomat who was ambassador to Somalia,the first for 20 years.
James Wilfrid Watt CVO is a British former diplomat who was ambassador to Lebanon,Jordan and Egypt.
Dame Menna Frances Rawlings is a British diplomat serving as British Ambassador to France since 2021. Previously British High Commissioner to Australia from 2015 to 2019,she then served as Director General of Economic and Global Issues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2019 to 2020.
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.
Francis Raymond Baker is a British diplomat and civil servant who was Ambassador to Libya from February 2018 to April 2019. He was Ambassador to Kuwait from 2010 to 2014,and Ambassador to Iraq from 2014 to 2017.
Jill Gallard is a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Germany from November 2020 to September 2024. Previously she was the British Ambassador to Portugal,director of human resources at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and deputy political director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Catriona Wendy Campbell Laing is a British civil servant and diplomat who has been serving as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) since 2023.
Dominic James Robert Jermey is a British diplomat who is currently the British Ambassador to Indonesia. His immediately previous position was Director-General of the Zoological Society of London. He served as British Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2016 to 2017.
Jane Marriott is a British diplomat. Marriott was the Director of the Joint International Counter-Terrorism Unit. She is currently the British High commissioner to Pakistan,having been appointed in 2023. She was previously the British High Commissioner to Kenya,and began her consular duties in the Summer of 2019.
As part of the British honours system,Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative,operational honours,political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.
Media related to Neil Wigan at Wikimedia Commons