British Ambassador to Ukraine

Martin Harris CMG OBE

Biography

Martin Harris was appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine and started in his role in September 2023.

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.

Follow Martin on Twitter: @MartinHarrisOBE.

British Ambassador to Ukraine

The Ambassador represents His Majesty The King and the UK government in the country to which they are appointed. They are responsible for the direction and work of the embassy and its consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Previous roles in government

  • Director, Eastern Europe and Central Asia
  • Deputy Head of Mission to Russia
  • British Ambassador to Romania