Nigel John Dakin (born 28 February 1964) 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 ...

currently serving as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. He assumed office on 15 July 2019 in a swearing-in ceremony before the territory's

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

. On 15 December 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office issued a press release announcing that Nigel Dakin would be leaving his post in June 2023. He will be succeeded at that time by

Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam is a British lawyer and civil servant who has served as Governor of Anguilla since 18 January 2021. She is the second female holder of the position after Christina Scott. On 15 December 2022, the Foreign, Commonweal ...

, the current

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...

Early life and education

Dakin was born on 28 February 1964 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and is the son of John Frederick Dakin and Dorothy Alice Dakin (née Scott). He grew up in Bournville and was educated at the

King Edward VI Five Ways School King Edward VI Five Ways (KEFW) is a highly selective co-educational state grammar school for ages 11–18 in Bartley Green, Birmingham, England. One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a volunt ...

, a state grammar school in

. Having secured, while at school, an Army Scholarship, Dakin entered the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

in 1982 and was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1983. Following service as an Infantry Platoon Commander in Northern Ireland he studied, again on a military scholarship, at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

between 1984 and 1987, where he received 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 ...

in Political Science. He would later receive a

Masters in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

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

in 1995.

Career

Following university, Dakin returned to the Army, serving in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 1993 he was mentioned in dispatches for gallantry in Northern Ireland and between 1994 and 1996 served as a Staff Officer in the Ministry of Defence advising the

Defence Secretary A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

) and Chief of the Defence Staff (Field Marshall Peter Inge) on matters relating to the

Irish Peace Process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...

. In 1996, Dakin accepted a position within 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). He first lead staff groups involved in Russia and later on Counter Terrorism and, promoted to Director; he served on the executive board where he oversaw organisational transformation. Concurrently, he was invited by the then Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, to serve as the civilian Non-Executive Director on both the Army No. 1 Board and the Army Higher Honours Committee, a position he retained until 2019. While overseas Dakin served as First Secretary (Political) in Nigeria (1998–99) and India (1999-2001) and then as the Political Counsellor in Pakistan (2007-2010) and Afghanistan (2012-2013). He served twice in the British Embassy in Washington DC: first from 2005 to 2007 working with the US Administration of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on Iraq, Afghanistan and Counter Terrorism and again between 2016 and 2019 as the Senior National Security Official to the UK Ambassador to the United States.

Governor of the Turks and Caicos

In May 2019, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that Dakin would succeed outgoing Governor John Freeman as Governor of the Turks and Caicos. As such, Dakin is the representative of His Majesty The King and acts as the de facto Head of State responsible for appointing the Head of Government, and senior political positions in the territory. Dakin is also responsible for carrying out key duties to support the people of the islands, such as chairing Cabinet and ensuring the good governance of the territory. The Constitution also reserves to the Governor responsibility for defence, external affairs, the regulation of international financial services and internal security, including the police force.

Honours

Dakin 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

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to British foreign policy.

Personal life

He married Amanda Dakin (née Johnson) in 1987, in her home country of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. They have two children; Charlotte (known as Charlie) and Fraser.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakin, Nigel Governors of the Turks and Caicos Islands 1964 births 20th-century British diplomats Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Kingston University Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at King Edward VI Five Ways Living people Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst