Senior diplomat Stephen Hickey named UK ambassador to Italy and San Marino

Hickey will take up the Rome post in June, replacing Lord Edward Llewellyn, who returns to London as Political Director at the FCDO and DirectorGeneral for Political Affairs.

The appointment brings to Rome a seasoned foreign policy figure with extensive experience across the Middle East, Europe and the United Nations. Hickey currently serves as Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the FCDO, a position he has held since 2022.

His diplomatic career includes some of Britain’s most sensitive postings of the past decade. He was ambassador to Iraq from 2019 to 2021 and previously served at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York as ambassador and political coordinator. Earlier roles saw him deployed in conflict and transition settings, including Benghazi during the Libyan crisis and Damascus prior to the escalation of the Syrian war.

Hickey has also held senior policy roles in London, including private secretary to the foreign secretary and leadership positions covering Iran and wider Middle East affairs. In Brussels, he worked on EU external relations and chaired a working group on the Middle East and North Africa during the UK’s EU presidency.

He began his diplomatic career in 2001, with early postings in Geneva, focusing on human rights at the United Nations, and in Cyprus, before moving into EU and multilateral diplomacy.

In his new role, Hickey will represent King Charles III and the British government in Italy and San Marino, taking up the position at a time of steady bilateral cooperation between London and Rome despite the post Brexit landscape.

 

PS