Christine Isobel "Kirsty" Hayes (born 2 February 1977) 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. She 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 Portug ...

from 2014 to 2018.

Early life

Hayes was born on 2 February 1977 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland, to Robert Colin and Rowena Antoinette Paton. She is distantly related to the noted explorer, archaeologist, diplomat and politician,

Sir Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...

. She was educated at

Dame Alice Harpur School Dame Alice Harpur School (also known as DAHS), known from 1882 until 1946 as Bedford Girls' Modern School, was an independent girls school in Bedford, England, for girls aged 7–18. In September 2010 the junior department of the school merged wit ...

, an

all-girls Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Bedford, England. From 1995 to 1998, she studied

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

at the Institute of Archaeology,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA Hons) degree in 1998. She had been offered a place at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, but turned it down to study at UCL because it offered more opportunities for

fieldwork Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fie ...

. She later completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(MA) degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources Strategy at

Kingston Business School Kingston Business School is a business school located in London, United Kingdom and a part of Kingston University. It holds AACSB, AMBA, and EFMD EPAS accreditation History Kingston Business School origins date to the 1960s. It is now part of t ...

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

Diplomatic career

In September 1999, Hayes 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) as part of their Fast Stream entry programme, thereby starting a career in

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

. Her first appointment was as a desk officer specialising in

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

within the Environment Policy Department. In 2000, she moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

where she served as

Vice-Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

specialising in politics and economics. In December 2001, she moved to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Between December 2001 and February 2002, she worked 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, ...

as the temporary

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 ...

(Economics). Then, from 2002 to 2005, she served as

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

British Ambassador to the United States The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. T ...

; first Sir Christopher Meyer, and then from 2003, Sir David Manning. In August 2005, she returned to the United Kingdom to take up an appointment within the Europe Department of the FCO. She served as head of the Institutions/France Team and was a member of the Common Foreign and Security Policy Group. In 2007, she moved to the

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...

department. In February 2007, she was head of the Diversity and Development Team within the department. Then, from March to February 2008, she was Deputy Head of the department with responsibilities for training, recruitment and development. Her husband, Peter Hayes, served as High Commissioner to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and to the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

from 2008 to 2010. Between March 2008 and March 2009, she additionally worked as a consultant at the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

Regional Centre in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, Sri Lanka. She returned to the UK at the end of 2010. From December 2010 to October 2011, she was head of the Corporate Communications Department, FCO. From November 2011, she was head of the International Organisations Department, FCO. In that role, she was responsible for policy on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

the Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

, the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, and international issues such as war crimes and sanctions. In addition, she was the UK's lead negotiator at the

2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; ) was the 23rd Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 15 to 17 November 2013. Commonwealth leaders agreed on Sri Lan ...

. In June 2014 Hayes was appointed to be

in succession to

Jill Gallard Jill Gallard is a British diplomat who took up the post of British Ambassador to Germany in November 2020. Previously she was the British Ambassador to Portugal, director of human resources at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and deputy pol ...

. She took up the appointment in September 2014. She was replaced in the summer of 2018. In December 2020 Hayes was appointed to be

British Ambassador to Argentina The ambassador of the United Kingdom to Argentina is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Argentina, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission there. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Argentine ...

in succession to

Mark Kent Mark Andrew Geoffrey Kent (born Spilsby 14 January 1966) is a British businessman and former diplomat who served as UK ambassador to Argentina from 2016 to 2021. Kent was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle before he read ...

. She took up the position in September 2021.

Personal life

In 2002 Hayes married Peter Hayes, a fellow diplomat. Together they have two children: one son and one daughter. She enjoys

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

, and competes in

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

and

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. When she moved to Portugal as the new British ambassador, she transported her horses across Europe and they are now stabled in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Kirsty 1977 births Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Argentina British women ambassadors People from Aberdeen People educated at Dame Alice Harpur School Alumni of the UCL Institute of Archaeology Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Kingston University 21st-century British diplomats