Michael John Gifford (born 2 April 1961) is a British diplomat who has been the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Kazakhstan since January 2018.

Career

Gifford 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 ...

in 1981. From 2004 until 2007 he served as the

British Ambassador to Yemen The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Republic of Yemen is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Yemen, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Sana'a. Operations at the British Embassy in Sana'a were temporarily su ...

. He was then the Deputy Head of Mission in Cairo. He became the Ambassador to North Korea in October 2012. He left that appointment in December 2015 and was succeeded by Alastair Morgan. After full-time Russian language training he was appointed to be the Ambassador to Kazakhstan from early 2018. He will leave this post in late summer 2021 and retire from the Diplomatic Service. Gifford was appointed

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 the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 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 celebrations ...

for services to British foreign policy.

Personal life

Gifford is married to his wife, Patricia, and the couple have one son and one daughter.

References

1961 births Living people People educated at Hastings Grammar School Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to North Korea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Yemen Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kazakhstan Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats {{UK-diplomat-stub