![Den Haag - Lange Voorhout 10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Den_Haag_-_Lange_Voorhout_10.JPG)
The British Ambassador to the Netherlands is the
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 ...
's foremost
diplomatic representative
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 ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and head of the UK's
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in the Netherlands. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands''.
Since the formation in 1997 of the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...
(OPCW), which is located in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, the British Ambassador to the Netherlands has also been the UK's
Permanent Representative
A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation.
Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...
to the OPCW, assisted by a Chemical Weapons team at the Embassy.
Besides the embassy in The Hague, the UK also maintains a
consulate general
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 ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
.
List of heads of mission
Envoys to the Prince of Orange
* 1575−1578:
Daniel Rogers ''Agent'' and ''Special agent'' 1578–1579
** 1575−1576: Robert Corbet ''Special Ambassador''
** 1577:
Philip Sidney
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...
''Special Ambassador''
* 1577−1579: William Davison ''Resident agent''; ''Special Ambassador'' 1584–1585; ''English Councillor'' 1585−1586
* 1585−1586:
Henry Killigrew and Dr
Bartholomew Clerke ''English Councillors'' on the
Dutch Council of State
The Council of State ( nl, ) is a constitutionally established advisory body in the Netherlands to the government and States General that officially consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political ...
* 1586−1587:
Thomas Wilkes
Sir Thomas Wilkes (c.1545 – 2 March 1598 ( N.S in Rouen)) was an English civil servant and diplomat during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He served as Clerk of the Privy Council, Member of Parliament for Downton and Southampton, a ...
''Special Ambassador'' then ''English Councillor'' on the Dutch Council of State; also 1578, 1582, and 1590
* 1587−1589:
Henry Killigrew ''English Councillor'' on the Dutch Council of State
* 1588−1593:
Thomas Bodley
Sir Thomas Bodley (2 March 1545 – 28 January 1613) was an English diplomat and scholar who founded the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Origins
Thomas Bodley was born on 2 March 1545, in the second-to-last year of the reign of King Henry VIII, ...
''English Councillor'' on the Dutch Council of State; again 1594−1596
* 1593−1602:
George Gilpin
George Gilpin (1514–1602) was an English diplomat.
Life
George Gilpin is sometimes called the Elder, to distinguish him from the eldest son of his elder brother. He was the second son of Edwin Gilpin of Kentmere, Westmoreland, by Margaret, da ...
''English Councillor'' on the Dutch Council of State
Ambassadors to the United Provinces
* 1603–1613:
Sir Ralph Winwood
Sir Ralph Winwood (c. 1563 – 27 October 1617) was an English diplomat and statesman to the Jacobean court.
Early life
Ralph Winwood was born the son of Richard Winwood at Aynhoe in Northamptonshire, and was educated at St John's College, ...
''Agent'' 1603–1607; ''Commissioner'' (with Spencer) 1607–1609; then ''Resident ambassador''
[Gary M. Bell, ''A handlist of British diplomatic representatives 1509-1688'' (Royal Historical Society, Guides and handbooks, 16, 1990).]
* 1607–1609: Sir Richard Spencer ''Commissioner'' (with Winwood)
* 1614–1615:
Sir Henry Wotton
* 1615–1625 and 1626–1628:
Sir Dudley Carleton
** 1625:
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...
''Ambassador Extraordinary''
* 1625–1632:
Dudley Carleton, his nephew ''Chargé d'Affaires''; then ''Agent''
* 1632–1649:
Sir William Boswell ''Agent'' until 1634; then ''Ambassador''
* 1642–1650:
Walter Strickland
Walter Strickland (1598? – 1 November 1671) was an English politician and diplomat who held high office during the Protectorate.
Biography
Strickland was the younger son of Walter Strickland of Boynton. His elder brother, William, was kn ...
''Ambassador'' (appointed by Parliament)
** 1644:
Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Jermyn ''Ambassador''
* ''No representation due to the
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...
1652–1654''
* 1657–1665:
Sir George Downing
* ''No representation due to the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...
1665–1667''
* 1668–1670:
Sir William Temple, Bt
* 1671–1672:
William Blathwayt
William Blathwayt (or Blathwayte) (1649 – 16 August 1717) was an English diplomat, public official and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1685 and 1710. He established the War Office as a department of ...
''Chargé d'Affaires''
''No representation due to the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
1672–1674
''
* 1674–1679:
Sir William Temple, Bt
* 1678–1679: Roger Meredith ''Chargé d'Affaires''
* 1679–1681:
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...
Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the United Provinces
* 1681–1682: Thomas Plott ''Agent''
* 1681–1685:
Thomas Chudleigh
* 1685–1686:
Bevil Skelton ''Ambassador''
* 1686–1688:
Ignatius White
Ambassadors to the United Provinces
* 1689:
Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pembroke[D. B. Horn, ''British Diplomatic Representatives 1689-1789'' (Camden 3rd Ser. 46, 1932)]
* 1689–1695:
Charles Berkeley, Viscount Dursley ''Envoy Extraordinary''
** 1690:
William Harbord
* 1695–1697:
Edward Villiers, 1st Viscount Villiers
* 1697–1699: Sir
Joseph Williamson
* 1700–1706:
Alexander Stanhope
Alexander Stanhope (1638 – 20 September 1707) was an English envoy in Madrid between 1690 and 1699.
Early life
He was the youngest son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield by his second wife Anne, daughter of John 'Lusty' Pakingto ...
''Envoy Extraordinary''
** 1701 and 1702–1712:
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
** 1706–1712:
James Dayrolle ''Resident''
* 1706–1707:
George Stepney
George Stepney (1663 – 15 September 1707) was an English poet and diplomat.
Stepney was the son of George Stepney, groom of the chamber to Charles II, and was born at Westminster. He was admitted on the foundation of Westminster School in 16 ...
''Envoy Extraordinary'' (but rarely at The Hague)
* 1707–1709:
William Cadogan ''Envoy Extraordinary'' (but rarely at The Hague)
* 1709–1711:
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was an English Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, 1714–1717, 1721–1730. He directed British foreign policy in ...
* 1711:
Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery ''Envoy Extraordinary''
* 1711–1714:
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...
* 1714–1720
William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan
William Cadogan (-1726), 1st Earl Cadogan, an Irish-born British Army officer, began his active military service during the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689 and ended it with the suppression of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. A close associate an ...
''Envoy Extraordinary'' until 1716 then ''Ambassador''
** Jan – Apr 1715 and Oct 1715–Oct 1716:
Horatio Walpole
** 1717:
William Leathes seconded as Resident from his post in Brussels
** 1717–1721:
Charles Whitworth ''Envoy Extraordinary'' 1717; then ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' (seconded from his post in Berlin)
** 1717–1739:
James Dayrolle ''Resident''
Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the United Provinces
* May-Jul 1722:
Horatio Walpole ''Minister Plenipotentiary''
* 1724–1728:
William Finch ''Envoy Extraordinary''
* 1728–1732:
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time.
Early life
He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Ches ...
''Ambassador''
* 1733–1734:
William Finch ''Minister Plenipotentiary''
[www.inghist.nl]
* 1734–1739: Horatio Walpole ''Minister'' 1734; then ''Envoy Extraordinary'' (absent 1736-Jun 1739)
* 1736–1746: Robert Trevor (''Secretary'' 1736–1736; then ''Envoy Extraordinary'' until 1741, then also ''Minister Plenipotentiary'')
** 1742–1743: John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (20 July 16739 May 1747) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat. He served in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession and, after a period as British Ambassador in Paris, became a ...
''Ambassador''
** 1745: Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield
* 1746–1749: John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich ''Minister Plenipotentiary''
** 1747–1752: Solomon Dayrolle ''Resident''
* 1749–1751: Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, (17 May 1718 – 16 May 1778), known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician.
Career
In 1741 he collaborated with G.F. Handel in the production of Deidamia. From ...
''Minister Plenipotentiary''
* 1751–1780: Joseph Yorke ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' until 1761 then ''Ambassador''
''No representation due to the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Vierde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence (1775-1783), broke out ove ...
1780–1784''
* 1784–1789: Sir James Harris ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' until 1788; then (as Lord Malmesbury) ''Ambassador''[J. Haydn, ''Book of Dignities'', 79]
* 1789–1790: Alleyne Fitzherbert ''Envoy Extraordinary''[S. T. Bindoff, E. F. Malcolm Smith and C. K. Webster, ''British Diplomatic Representatives 1789-1852'' (Camden 3rd Series, 50, 1934).]
* 1790–1793: William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland
William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, PC (Ire), FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1793.
Early life
A member of the influential Eden family, Auckland was a younger son ...
(ambassador)
** 1790–1793: Lord Henry John Spencer ''Secretary'', but ''Minister ad interim'' 1791–1792 and 1793
* 1793–1794: Hon. William Eliot ''Minister ad interim''
* 1794–1795: Alleyne FitzHerbert
''Diplomatic Relations suspended 1795–1802''
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...
* 1802–1803: Robert Liston
Robert Liston (28 October 1794 – 7 December 1847) was a British surgeon. Liston was noted for his speed and skill in an era prior to anaesthetics, when speed made a difference in terms of pain and survival. He was the first Professor of Cli ...
''Diplomatic Relations suspended 1803–1813''
Ambassadors to the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...
''Under the Treaty of Vienna in 1815, the northern and southern Netherlands were united into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...
.''
* 1813–1815: Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty
Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden (19 May 1767 – 24 November 1837), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and ...
* 1815: Sir Charles Stuart
* 1815–1816: John James ''Minister ad interim''
* 1816–1817: George William Chad
George William Chad (1784 or 6 July 1781, Thursford – 25 April 1849, London) was a British diplomat.
George William Chad was the son of Sir George Chad, Bart. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1809 and M.A. in 181 ...
''Minister ad interim''
* 1817–1824: Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty
Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden (19 May 1767 – 24 November 1837), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and ...
** 1818–1819, 1819, 1822 and 1824: George William Chad
George William Chad (1784 or 6 July 1781, Thursford – 25 April 1849, London) was a British diplomat.
George William Chad was the son of Sir George Chad, Bart. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1809 and M.A. in 181 ...
''Minister ad interim''
* 1824: Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Viscount Granville
* 1824: Andrew Snape Douglas
Sir Andrew Snape Douglas (8 October 1761 – 4 June 1797) was a distinguished Scottish sea captain in the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars.
Family and early life
Andrew Snape Douglas was born in ...
(''ad interim'')
* 1824–1829: Sir Charles Bagot
* 1829–1832: Thomas Cartwright (''ad interim'')
''The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was dissolved by the secession of the Southern Netherlands in the Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
T ...
''
Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands
* 1832: Hon. John Duncan Bligh (''ad interim'')
* 1833–1836: Hon. George Jerningham ''Chargé d'affaires''
* 1836–1851: Sir Edward Cromwell Disbrowe
* 1851–1858: Sir Ralph Abercromby
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ire ...
* 1858–1860: Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier
Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier and 1st Baron Ettrick, (15 September 1819 – 19 December 1898) was a Scottish polyglot, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British Minister to the United States from 1857 to 1859, Netherlan ...
* 1860–1862: Sir Andrew Buchanan
* 1862–1867: Sir John Ralph Milbanke, 8th Bt
* 1867–1877: Hon. Edward Harris
* 1877–1888: Hon. William Stuart
* 1888–1896: Sir Horace Rumbold, 8th Bt
* 1896–1908: Sir Henry Howard
* 1908–1910: Sir George Buchanan
* 1910–1917: Hon. Sir Alan Johnstone
* 1917–1919: Sir Walter Townley
* 1919–1921: Sir Ronald Graham
* 1921–1926: Sir Charles Marling
* 1926–1928: Granville Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville
* 1928–1933: Hon. Sir Odo Russell
* 1933–1938: Sir Hubert Montgomery
* 1938–''1942'': Sir Nevile Bland
Ambassadors to the Netherlands
* ''1942''–1948: Sir Nevile Bland
* 1948–1952: Sir Philip Nichols
* 1952–1954: Sir Nevile Butler
* 1954–1960: Sir Paul Mason
* 1960–1964: Sir Andrew Noble
* 1964–1970: Sir Peter Garran
* 1970–1972: Sir Edward Tomkins
* 1972–1977: Sir John Barnes
* 1977–1979: Sir Richard Sykes
* 1979–1981: Sir Jock Taylor
* 1981–1984: Sir Philip Mansfield
* 1984–1988: Sir John Margetson
* 1988–1993: Sir Michael Jenkins
* 1993–1996: Sir David Miers
* 1996–2001: Dame Rosemary Spencer
* 2001–2005: Sir Colin Budd
* 2005–2009: Lyn Parker
* 2009–2013: Paul Arkwright
Paul Thomas Arkwright (born 2 March 1962) is a British diplomat who was High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2015–18.
Early life
Arkwright was born in Bolton, and grew up in Lancashire. He is the son of Thomas Arkwright and ...
* 2013–2017: Sir Geoffrey Adams
* 2017–2020: Peter Wilson
* 2020–: Joanna Roper
Joanna Louise Roper, (born 20 February 1969) is a British diplomat serving as British Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Having worked ...
See also
* Netherlands – United Kingdom relations
References
External links
British Embassy The Hague
{{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
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 ...