Michael Davenport MBE
Biography
Mr Michael Davenport was most recently Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the State of Kuwait. Before this he was EU Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, and British Ambassador to Serbia.
His first foreign posting as a British diplomat was to Poland in 1990, where he was responsible for establishing the first British Know-How Fund, supporting Poland’s early political and economic reforms after the fall of Communism. In the mid-nineties Michael headed the FCDO’s UN Peacekeeping Section before learning Russian ahead of a posting as First Secretary to Moscow in 1996. In 2000 Michael returned to Poland as Commercial Counsellor and Consul-General in the run-up to Polish accession to the European Union, and in 2004 was appointed Deputy Ambassador to Cairo.
Michael did his first degree in French and German language and literature at Cambridge University, after which he taught English at Graz University in Austria. Later he studied law at the College of Law in London and qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court in 1988, having trained at the City firm of Macfarlanes. He first started learning Arabic in 2003 and is continuing his studies.
Michael and his wife, Dr Lavinia Davenport, have three children. Michael is a keen tennis player.
Curriculum Vitae
| Full name | Michael Davenport MBE |
| Married to | Dr Lavinia Davenport |
| Children | Three |
| 2017 – 2021 | Kuwait, Her Majesty’s Ambassador |
| 2013 – 2017 | Serbia, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation |
| 2010 – 2013 | Belgrade, Her Majesty’s Ambassador |
| 2007 – 2010 | FCDO, Director, Russia, South Caucasus and Central Asia Directorate |
| 2004 – 2007 | Cairo, Deputy Head of Mission |
| 2000 – 2003 | Warsaw, Consul-General and Director for Trade Promotion |
| 1996 – 1999 | Moscow, First Secretary Political (External) |
| 1993 – 1996 | FCDO, Head, UN Peacekeeping Section, United Nations Department |
| 1990 – 1993 | Warsaw, Second Secretary, Know-How Fund |
| 1988 – 1989 | FCDO, Desk Officer, East Africa Department |
Previous roles in government
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British Ambassador to Kuwait