Hugh Elliott (diplomat)

Hugh Stephen Murray Elliott (born 1965)[2] is a British diplomat, currently serving as the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain and non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary to Andorra since 2019. Prior to this, he was Director for Communications at the Department for Exiting the European Union.[3]

This article is about the 21st century British diplomat. For the British diplomat born 1752, see Hugh Elliot. For others named Hugh Elliot or Elliott, see Hugh Elliott.

His Excellency
Hugh Elliott
British Ambassador to Spain
Assumed office
August 2019
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded bySimon Manley
Personal details
Born
Hugh Stephen Murray Elliott

1965
NationalityBritish
SpouseMaría Antonia Martín (m. 1989)
ChildrenTwo[1]
EducationBedford School
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
OccupationDiplomat

Early life

Elliott attended Bedford School from 1973 to 1983, where his father, Tim Elliott, taught Spanish.[4] He then went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Modern and Medieval Languages.[5]

Diplomatic career

Elliott joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989 as an Assistant Desk Officer for the East Africa Department.[6] In 1991, Elliott was posted to Madrid for five years. From 1996 to 1999 he held various positions in the FCO, including as the Head of the Amsterdam Treaty Unit. He was then posted to Buenos Aires for three years as Head of Economic, Political and Public Affairs. In 2002, he was in Paris as a Counsellor for Global Issues.[6][7]

From 2006 to 2013, Elliott was the Head of Government Relations at Anglo American, a mining company. In 2013, he returned to the FCO as the Director of Communication, a post which he kept until 2017, when he was made the Director for Europe. In 2017, Elliott was the Director of International Agreements at the FCO and in 2018 he moved to the Department for Exiting the European Union as Director of Communications and Stakeholders.[6]

Elliott took up the post of Ambassador to Spain and non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary to Andorra in August 2019.[8] He presented his letter of credence to King Felipe VI on 5 September 2019.[9]

Elliott has also served as a Trustee of the British Spanish Society and the Chairman of Canning House, an Anglo-Hispanic centre.[5]

In 2020 he was appointed as the Patron of The Royal British Legion in Spain and the British Benevolent Fund.[10]

In April 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab resigned after an inquiry into bullying found him to have acted in an "intimidating" and "aggressive" way towards officials.[11] The Telegraph wrote that Elliott was one of the civil servants involved and that the inquiry had upheld a complaint about an incident where Raab's behaviour was concluded to be "unreasonably and persistently aggressive" and "undermining and humiliating".[12][13] Raab referenced the incident in his resignation letter;[14] it was reported that Raab had recalled Elliot from Spain in November 2020 after it was suspected Elliott had exceeded Cabinet's mandate in negotiations with the Spanish government over the presence of Spanish officers in Gibraltar.[12] While remaining ambassador, Elliot was then replaced in negotiations by Simon Manley, his predecessor.[12]

Personal life

In 1989, Elliott married María Antonia Martín[15] and has two children, both of whom were born in Madrid.[1] He enjoys cricket and has played at the Cartama Oval in Málaga.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Introducing the new British Ambassador to Spain". The Local. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  2. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 149
  3. "EXECUTIVE MASTERS INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY AND DIPLOMACY" (PDF). London School of Economics. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  4. "Diplomatic Connection". Bedford School. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. "Hugh Elliott UK Ambassador-Designate to Spain and Andorra". Moving For Climate Now. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Spain during summer 2019". GOV.UK. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. "Hugh Elliott". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  8. "New British ambassador to Spain joins his office in Madrid". The Diplomat In Spain. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  9. "The King receives Credentials from Hugh Elliott, the new British 'Brexit' ambassador". The Diplomat In Spain. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  10. "Home". britishbenevolentfund.org.
  11. Ione Wells; Joshua Nevett (22 April 2023). "Dominic Raab resigns as bullying inquiry finds 'aggressive conduct'". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  12. Ben Riley-Smith; Charles Hymas; Dominic Penna (21 April 2023). "Dominic Raab sunk by row over Spanish forces in Gibraltar". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  13. Kit Heren (21 April 2023). "Dominic Raab 'sunk by row over Spanish troops in Gibraltar' as ambassador 'overstepped Cabinet mandate' in Brexit talks". LBC. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  14. "UK ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, breached Gibraltar Brexit negotiating mandate suggesting 'Spanish boots on the ground', reports Telegraph". GBC News. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  15. Mónica Parga; Paloma Simón (9 June 2022). "La fiesta del embajador británico en España en honor a Isabel II: "Mi momento favorito del Jubileo fue el príncipe Louis tapándose los oídos"". Vanity Fair (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  16. Charlie Smith (29 October 2019). "Britain's new ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott talks cricket, Brexit and his Costa Del Sol holidays in an exclusive interview". The Olive Press. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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