The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the Embassy to France has been the most prestigious posting in the British foreign service, although in past centuries, diplomatic representation was lacking due to wars between the two countries and the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

. For the period before the creation of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

in 1801, see

List of ambassadors of the Kingdom of England to France The ambassador of the Kingdom of England to France ( French: l'ambassadeur anglais en France) was the foremost diplomatic representative of the historic Kingdom of England in France, before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. ...

(up to 1707) and List of ambassadors of Great Britain to France (from 1707 to 1800). The Paris embassy also covers remotely the

French overseas territories Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decolo ...

(including

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, Saint-Barthélemy) and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Besides the embassy, the

Foreign & Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

maintains

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

s in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

in southern France.

British Ambassadors and Ministers to France

:''There was no representation of Great Britain or the United Kingdom in France from 1792 to 1801, due to the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

'' *1801–1802: The Marquess Cornwallis, ''Plenipotentiary'' *1802–1803: The Lord WhitworthS. T. Bindoff, E. F. Malcolm Smith and C. K. Webster, ''British Diplomatic Representatives 1789–1852'' (Camden 3rd Series, 50, 1934). :''No representation from 1803 to 1814, due to the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

'' :*1806: Francis Seymour-Conway, Earl of Yarmouth and

James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (26 January 1759 – 10 September 1839) was Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and a representative peer for Scotland in the House of Lords. Early years Born at Haltoun House near Ratho, the eldest s ...

, ''Plenipotentiaries'' *1814–1815:

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

*1815–1824: Sir Charles Stuart *1824–1828: The Viscount Granville *1828–1830: The Lord Stuart de Rothesay *1830–1835: The Viscount Granville *1835: The Lord Cowley *1835–1841: The Earl Granville *1841–1846: The Lord Cowley *1846–1852: The Marquess of Normanby *1852–1867: The Earl Cowley *1867–1887: The Viscount Lyons *1887–1891: The Earl of Lytton *1891–1896: The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava *1896–1905: Sir Edmund Monson *1905–1918: Sir

Francis Bertie Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ( "barty of tame"; 17 August 1844 – 26 September 1919) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Italy between 1903 and 1905 and Ambassador to France between 1905 and 1918. Background ...

*1918–1920: The Earl of Derby *1920–1922: The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst *1922–1928: The Marquess of Crewe *1928–1934: Sir William Tyrrell *1934–1937: Sir George Clerk *1937–1939: Sir

Eric Phipps Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps (27 October 1875 – 13 August 1945) was a British diplomat. Family Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife, Maria Jane (née Miller Mundy). Henry Phipps ...

*1939–1940: Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell :''No representation from 1940 to 1944, due to the German occupation of France during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

'' *1944–1948: Sir

Alfred Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 192 ...

, (previously Representative to the Free French in Algiers from 1943) *1948–1954: Sir Oliver Harvey *1954–1960: Sir

Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn (25 April 1900 – 24 October 1996) was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Early ...

*1960–1965: Sir

Pierson Dixon Sir Pierson John Dixon (13 November 190422 April 1965) was a British diplomat and writer. He was known to be a firm believer in the value of diplomacy to solve international issues. Career Dixon was the Principal Private Secretary to the For ...

*1965–1968: Sir

Patrick Reilly Sir Patrick Reilly, GCMG (17 March 1909 – 6 October 1999) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to the USSR and France. He held several senior posts and was called "the perfect mandarin." Biography D'Arcy Patrick Reilly was born at ...

*1968–1972: Sir

Christopher Soames Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliame ...

*1972–1975: Sir Edward Tomkins *1975–1979: Sir

Nicholas Henderson Sir John Nicholas Henderson, (1 April 191916 March 2009), known as Nicko Henderson, was a British diplomat and writer, who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1982. Life and career Henderson was born in London, the ...

*1979–1982: Sir

Reginald Hibbert Sir Reginald Alfred Hibbert, (21 February 1922 – 5 October 2002) was a British diplomat. Career Reginald Hibbert was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Boys, Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, and Worcester College, Oxford, whe ...

*1982–1987: Sir

John Fretwell Sir John Emsley Fretwell, (15 June 1930 – 30 March 2017) was a British diplomat. Career Fretwell was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School, the University of Lausanne and King's College, Cambridge. He served in the Royal Regiment of A ...

*1987–1993: Sir Ewen Fergusson *1993–1996: Sir Christopher Mallaby *1996–2001: Sir Michael Jay *2001–2007: Sir John Holmes *2007–2012: Sir

Peter Westmacott Sir Peter John Westmacott (born 23 December 1950) is a senior British diplomat, who was British Ambassador to Turkey, then Ambassador to France (2007 to 2011) and finally Ambassador to the United States from January 2012 to January 2016, succ ...

*2012–2015: Sir

Peter Ricketts Peter Forbes Ricketts, Baron Ricketts, (born 30 September 1952) is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2016. Ricketts served as chair of the Joint Intelligence Committe ...

*2016–2016: Sir Julian King *2016–2021: Edward Llewellyn, Baron Llewellyn of Steep OBE *2021–:

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Menna Rawlings Dame Menna Frances Rawlings (''née'' Hornung; born ) is a British diplomat serving as British Ambassador to France since 2021. Previously British High Commissioner to Australia from 2015 to 2019, she then served as Director General of Economi ...

References

List of Ambassadors to France since 1814
British Embassy, France

External links

UK and France
''gov.uk'' {{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

British Ambassadors and Ministers to France

See also

References

External links