Francis Raymond "Frank" Baker, (born 27 January 1961) 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 The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who was Ambassador to Libya from February 2018 to April 2019. He was Ambassador to Kuwait from 2010 to 2014, and Ambassador to Iraq from 2014 to 2017.

Early life

Baker was born on 27 January 1961 to Raymond and Pamela Baker. He was educated at

Dartford Grammar School Dartford Grammar School is a selective secondary (ages 11–19) foundation school for boys in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form (ages 16–18). All of the students joining the school are considered to be from the top ...

, then an all-boys

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Diplomatic career

Baker joined 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 1981. For the first two years of his career, he worked in the Personnel Operations Department. From 1983 to 1986, he undertook his first posting abroad as

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

at the British Embassy in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, Panama. From 1986 to 1991, he was based at the British Embassy in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina; first he was Third Secretary, and later he served as

Second Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

. In 1991, he returned to England, and was a desk officer (ranking as a Second Secretary) in the

Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

Policy Department of the FCO for two years. From 1993 to 1996, he was First Secretary at the British Embassy in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey; he was awarded an OBE for this posting. From 1996 to 1998, Baker was on

secondment Secondment is the assignment of a member of one organisation to another organisation for a temporary period. Job rotation The employee typically retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organization but they work close ...

to the

US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

and was based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1998, he was Head of the Iraq Section in the Middle East Department, FCO. Then, from 1998 to 2000, he was

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. From 2000 to 2003, he was Head of the Africa Department (Equatorial) in the FCO. From 2003 to 2007, he was once more based in Washington, D.C.; first, between 2003 and 2004, as Counsellor (Political/Military), and then, between 2004 and 2007, as Counsellor (Foreign and Security Policy). From 2002 to 2010, he was back working at the FCO, this time as Deputy Director Middle East. Baker took up his first ambassadorial appointment in 2010. From February 2010 to July 2014, he was the British Ambassador to the

State of Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. In August 2014, he was announced as the next British Ambassador to the

Republic of Iraq A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. He took up the appointment in September 2014. He was replaced in 2017 and took up the post of Ambassador to the State of Libya in February 2018. He was replaced as Ambassador to Libya in April 2019.

Personal life

Baker is married to Maria Pilar Fernandez. Together, they have two children; a boy and a girl.

Honours

In the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours, Baker was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in recognition of his service as First Secretary of the British Embassy in

, Turkey. 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

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are 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 celebratio ...

"for services to British foreign policy and UK/Iraq relations." He is a recipient of the

Order of Kuwait The Order of Kuwait (''Wisam al-Kuwait'') is an award given by the State of Kuwait. It ranks below the Order of Mubarak the Great The Order of Mubarak the Great (''Wisam Mubarak al-Kabir'') is a knighthood order of Kuwait. History The Order wa ...

(Special Class).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Frank 1961 births Living people Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kuwait Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iraq Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Libya Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Dartford Grammar School Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats