Denis Edward Peter Paul Keefe CMG (born 29 June 1958) is a British diplomat and former Ambassador to Serbia.

Biography

Keefe was educated at Campion School, Hornchurch and studied Classics at

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

and Hellenistic Greek poetry at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

. He joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

in 1982 and served at

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

and twice at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

as well as at 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 London. In 2007 he studied Georgian and Russian at

Malmö University Malmö University ( sv, Malmö universitet) is a public university located in Malmö, Sweden. With more than 24,000 students and about 1,600 employees (academic and administrative), Malmö University is the ninth largest institute of learning in S ...

in preparation for his appointment as ambassador. Keefe was

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

2007–10 including the

Russo-Georgian war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

in 2008. He was one of the victims of the 2010 Georgian news report hoax. Keefe was Minister and Deputy Head of Mission in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

2010–14. During this time, Russian media harassed him and accused him of being a MI6 officer, possibly because of his supposed actions in Georgia. Keefe was appointed Ambassador to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

from June 2014. In 2019 he was succeeded in the role by

Sian MacLeod Sian Christina MacLeod (born 31 May 1962) is a British diplomat who was formerly head of the UK delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. She is now the British Ambassador to Serbia. Career MacLeo ...

. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

References

KEEFE, Denis Edward Peter Paul
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013
Mr Denis Keefe Authorised Biography
Debrett's People of Today 1958 births Living people Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Georgia (country) Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Serbia Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats {{UK-diplomat-stub