James Hughes
Biography
James Hughes was Minister-Counsellor for Economic Affairs at the British Embassy, Warsaw. He was responsible for leading the Embassy’s work in strengthening the economic, science, trade and investment relationship between the UK and Poland. James also led our network of colleagues across British embassies in central Europe focused on climate policy.
James previously served as Political and Media Counsellor at the British Embassy, Seoul, where he led that mission’s work on political and security affairs, media and public affairs, and supported the UK’s work to agree continuity agreements with the South Korean government following Brexit. In London, James held positions in the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office leading teams on strategic defence and security policy; defence and security partnerships and exports; EU legislation, institutional affairs and reform; and the implementation of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty. James also served as Chair of the capacity-building Working Group of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
Prior to joining the FCO, James held positions in a number of UK Government Departments, with a focus on European Union policy. James has also spent time working in both the European Commission and Council of Europe.
James studied politics and modern languages at the University of Essex, the College of Europe (Bruges) and the French Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences-Po).
Previous roles in government
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Minister Counsellor, Poland