Christopher James Sainty (born 29 March 1967) is a British

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and civil servant. He was

British Ambassador to Portugal The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Portugal is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Portuguese Republic, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Portugal. For ambassadors from the Court of St James's to Portugal ...

from 2018 to 2023.

Early life and education

Sainty was born on 29 March 1967 in London, England, as the first son of Sir John Sainty and Lady Frances Sainty. He was educated at Westminster School, an all-boys

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

attached to Westminster Abbey. He studied mathematics and philosophy at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.

Career

Sainty entered the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

(FCO) in 1989, beginning his career as a

. He was Deputy Head of Mission in The Hague from 2006 to 2008, and in Rome from August 2011 to August 2015. From 2018 to 2023, he served as the

. On 25 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he won the appreciation of the Portuguese people with online videos of his playing on the piano the two songs that had been used on the radio by the revolutionaries to secretly signal the beginning of the 1974

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

Paulo de Carvalho Paulo de Carvalho (born Manuel Paulo de Carvalho Costa, in Lisbon, on 15 May 1947) is a Portuguese singer. Career Carvalho co-founded the band The Sheiks in 1965. He sang and played the drums. He also played an instrumental role, either as a fou ...

's '' E Depois do Adeus'' (Portugal's entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest) and ''

Grândola, Vila Morena "Grândola, Vila Morena" (English: ''Grândola, Swarthy Town'') is a Portuguese song by singer-songwriter José Afonso, recorded in 1971. It was originally released in Afonso's 1971 album ''Cantigas do Maio'' and later released in an EP of the sam ...

'', a song by

Zeca Afonso Zeca may refer to: * José Afonso (1929–1987), Portuguese folk and political musician also known mononymously as Zeca * Zeca (footballer, born 1946), full name Jose Luiz Ferreira Rodrigues, Brazilian football manager known mononymously as Zeca * ...

, a singer who was largely banned from Portuguese radio at the time. The Revolution overthrew the '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship. Sainty said that he decided to film himself playing these songs "for fun" and didn't expect the reaction he received, which was thousands of messages of thanks.

Personal life

Sainty is married to Sarah. Together they have three children: two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainty, Chris Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal 21st-century British diplomats 1967 births Diplomats from London People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of New College, Oxford Civil servants in the Foreign Office