Chris Campbell
Campbell and his wife Sharon
British Ambassador to Ecuador
In office
November 2020 – 23 November 2023
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byKatherine Ward
British Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
In office
2015–2019
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Theresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded bySteven Fisher
Succeeded byMockbul Ali
British Ambassador to Nicaragua
In office
2011 – 2 June 2015[1]
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byThomas Kennedy
Succeeded byRoss Denny
Personal details
Born
Christopher John Campbell
NationalityBritish
SpouseSharon Campbell
OccupationDiplomat

Christopher John Campbell is a British diplomat who has served as the United Kingdom's ambassador to Ecuador since 13 October 2020.[2][3] He also served as the ambassador to Nicaragua between 2011 and 2015 and the ambassador to the Dominican Republic between 2015 and 2020.

Consular career

Campbell joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1982 and started in the North America Department. In 1984, he moved to the Secretary of State's Private Office and the next year was placed to the UK Embassy in Khartoum as an economist. From 1988 he worked at the embassy in Dhaka and from 1992 at the embassy in Jakarta.[4]

Campbell served as the Ambassador to Nicaragua from 2011 to 2015.[5] During the same period, his wife, Sharon Campbell, was the Ambassador to Costa Rica, making them one of the only married couples to ever be ambassadors to neighbouring countries.[6][7] Because the UK did not have an embassy in Nicaragua, the post was non-residential and Campbell worked from San José.[6]

He served as the British Ambassador to the Dominican Republic from 2015 to 2020.[5] In 2020, Campbell said that Brexit would not impact trade with the Dominican Republic thanks to the CARIFORUM-UK Agreement, but pushed the Dominican Congress to ratify the agreement as quickly as possible.[8]

On 13 October 2020, he was recognised as British Ambassador to Ecuador.[3] In a 2021 interview, Campbell called himself a "trade-focused ambassador" and said he would seek to increase the trade relation between the UK and Ecuador.[9] He expressed support for Trade Minister Jose Julio Prado's plan to boost competitiveness and increase exports and for initiatives to make mining in Ecuador more responsible and transparent.[10] In July 2022, Niels Olsen, Ecuador's tourism minister, credited the work of Campbell and Ecuador's foreign minister Juan Carlos Holguin after the UK Foreign Office announced Ecuador would be moved to the green list for travel;[11] Campbell had previously been sent a public letter by four of Ecuador's largest tourism organisations asking for the country's travel advisory to be reviewed.[12] Upon the death of Elizabeth II, Campbell said that people would be missing her "all around the world".[13]

Personal life

Campbell met his wife Sharon while working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and they married in 1989.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Departing British ambassadors reflect on four-year tenure in Costa Rica". The Tico Times. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Change of Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador - November 2020". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 "El Gobierno Nacional pagó USD 285 millones a proveedores del Estado – Secretaría General de Comunicación de la Presidencia". www.comunicacion.gob.ec. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. ↑ "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Dominican Republic". WiredGov. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Chris Campbell - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Adewunmi, Bim (3 July 2011). "A very diplomatic marriage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Appointment: Ambassador to Costa Rica and Non Resident Ambassador to Nicaragua". The Times. 25 June 2011. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Dolores Vicioso (4 February 2020). "Ambassador Chris Campbell says Brexit opens opportunities for UK and DR". DR1.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Interview with Chris Campbell, HM Ambassador to Ecuador". LatAm Investor. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Special report: Ecuador is back on the map" (PDF). British Ecuadorian Society. LatAm Investor. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "UK Foreign Office Eases Travel Warnings for Ecuador". Northern Ireland Travel News. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ↑ Chris Moss (22 September 2021). "It is beginning to feel like we may never visit Latin America again". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Live updates: Charles back in London as king; queen mourned". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
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