Zeno Van Den Hoek
Biography
Zeno Van Den Hoek was appointed Deputy Ambassador to the Plurinational State of Bolivia in November 2024.
He joined the Foreign Office in 2019 after working for the Financial Times and as a research analyst for KCL and LSE. He is a career British Diplomat who has served previously in the UKs mission to the WTO and UN, covering services, investment, and digital trade.
In the UK, Zeno has held previous roles as Senior Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for International Trade leading on a portfolio covering; the post Brexit continuity programme which saw the UK conclude 68 Free Trade Agreements; UK-India trade relations; the Japan, Australia, and New Zealand FTAs; and DBTs stakeholder engagement campaigns. Following which he was transferred back into the FCDO as Private Secretary supporting and advising Special advisers and the Foreign Secretary on Russia-Ukraine Strategic communications.
Before his Posting to Geneva, he held the position of Deputy Head of Somalia Political team and has also occupied a number of crisis roles most recently coordinating evacuations of British nationals from Sudan in 2023 but also as Chief of Staff to the FCDO Covid-19 Director General during the pandemic.
He holds two master’s degrees in Political Economy and Economics and Public Policy, and is fluent in Dutch and Spanish.
Deputy Head of Mission, Bolivia
The Deputy Head of Mission is a senior diplomat and typically a key advisor to the Ambassador or High Commissioner. The Deputy is responsible for the daily management of an overseas Embassy or High Commission. They will represent the UK’s interests in the absence of the Ambassador as Chargé d’Affaires. A senior ranking Deputy may also take the title Minister. Smaller missions may not have a Deputy Head.