Peter Abbott OBE
Biography
Dr Peter Abbott has been a member of the Diplomatic Service since 2005. Before becoming British Consul General to New England in 2020, he served as Counsellor at the British High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan, with operational oversight of the largest mission in the UK’s overseas diplomatic network.
Earlier in his career, Peter was Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Lisbon. Before being posted to Portugal, Peter covered West Africa, with a particular focus on the emerging threat of terrorism and instability in Mali and the Sahel. Prior to this, he led the Government’s review of the UK counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, based in the Office for Security and Counter-terrorism at the Home Office. This followed a posting to the British Embassy in Washington where he was Private Secretary to the Ambassador, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, from 2008-2010.
Before joining the FCDO, Peter lived, studied and worked in the United States, including interning in the office of Dennis Hastert when he was Speaker of the US House of Representatives and working on Arianna Huffington’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign in California.
Peter holds a double first class honours degree from the University of Cambridge as well as a PhD in Greek tragedy.
Social media links
Previous roles in government
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British Consul General in Boston
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Deputy Head of Mission, Portugal