Christopher Holtby OBE
Biography
Chris was in the post of Consul General in Melbourne and Head of the UK Office for South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria from September 2016 till June 2020.
Prior to this role, Chris was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia from January 2012.
From 2007 to 2011, he was Deputy Head of Security Policy Department in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, responsible for UK policy on NATO, European Security, military and civil-military operations and co-operation, as well as maritime security.
From 2009 to 2011 he was the chairman of Working Group 1 of the international Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, leading work on operational co-ordination and regional capability development.
From 2002 to 2007, he was seconded to the European Union in Brussels as UK liaison officer to Javier Solana, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, and policy adviser to Dr Solana on Asia/Pacific issues.
Chris is married with three children, which keeps him busy enough. But when he has any spare time he loves cycling, sailing and hill walking with family and friends, as well as getting out to watch team sports including especially rugby, soccer and cricket, being too old to actually play them properly himself any more.
Previous roles in government
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British Consul General, Melbourne
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British Ambassador to Estonia