According to the Ukrainian Foreign Commonwealth and Development Officer, Martin Harris has been appointed to be the UK Ambassador to Ukraine, an especially important assignment given the current strategic partnership between the two countries.
The announcement reads below:
“Mr. Martin Harris CMG OBE has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine in succession to Dame Melinda Simmons DCMG, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.
Mr Harris will take up his appointment in September 2023.
On his appointment, Martin Harris said:
I am delighted to be returning to Ukraine to lead our Embassy’s vital work in supporting the Ukrainian government and people as they defend their country and our common values.
The UK’s relationship with Ukraine has never been stronger, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Martin was previously in Kyiv from 2003 to 2008 where he was Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General.”
Ambassador Martin’s biography reads below:
“Martin joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1991. He was Second Secretary at the UK Delegation to the OSCE in Vienna from 1992 to 1996. After leading the FCO’s Pakistan and Afghanistan Section in 1997 to 1998, he went to the British Embassy in Moscow to run the UK’s programme of technical assistance in the Russian Federation from 1999 until 2003.
Martin then moved to the British Embassy in Kyiv, where he was Consul General and Deputy Head of Mission from 2003 to 2008. He returned to London in 2008 working as an adviser in the Cabinet Office on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2010 Martin was appointed as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania, a role he held until April 2014.
Martin was the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Moscow from 2014 to 2017. He served as Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from 2017 to 2022.
Martin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010, and a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 2023.
Martin is married to Linda MacLachlan. They met as students in Cambridge, where they both sang in the chapel choir of Corpus Christi College. They have 3 children.”