Nicholas Westcott (born 20 July 1956) is a British diplomat. He is director of the

Royal African Society The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. The RAS is a not-for-profit membership organisation based in London. In addition to producing its jour ...

since 2017 and a research associate at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

. He was formerly a member of

Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with Foreign policy, foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Civil Servi ...

, serving as British High Commissioner to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and as managing director for Africa and the Middle East in the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also ...

. He has also published a number of books and articles on African history and international affairs.

Early life and education

Born in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, Westcott attended

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orpha ...

and studied at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

, from 1974 to 1982, taking 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 history and completing a PhD on "The Impact of the Second World War on Tanganyika, 1939–1951".

Career

He joined the British diplomatic service in 1982, serving in the UK Representation to the European Union in Brussels from 1985 to 1989, as the Deputy High Commissioner in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

(1993–1996), and as Minister-Counsellor in the Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C. (1999–2002). In the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

(then the FCO) Westcott worked as head of the Economic Relations Department (1996–1999), and as chief information officer and head of IT strategy from 2002 to 2007. He was appointed British High Commissioner to

in 2008–2011, and served simultaneously as British Ambassador to

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTogo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. In 2011, President

Laurent Gbagbo Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website . ( Marie Isabelle Massip after their respective governments said they would no longer recognize Gbagbo emissaries. In 2011, he was appointed by the first managing director for Africa in the EU's

in Brussels, serving under the first

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...

Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, (born 20 March 1956), is a British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First Vice President of the Europea ...

. In 2015 he was moved to become Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa by HRVP

Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...

. In November 2017, Westcott returned to London to take up the role of director of the

, and was appointed a research associate at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy as

. He also sits on the boards of the African Center for Economic Transformation, based in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and a member of

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

. He was made a 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. ...

in 1998.

Family

Westcott was married for 30 years to Miriam Pearson (died 2018). They have one daughter and one son.

Publications

* "The Impact of the Second World War on Tanganyika, 1939–49" in D. Killingray and R. Rathbone (ed.), ''Africa and the Second World War'' (1986), * ''Managed Economies in World War II'', with P. Kingston and R. G. Tiedemann (1991), * ''Digital Diplomacy: the Impact of the Internet on International Relations,'' (2008) * ''Responding to Conflict and Promoting Stability: European Policy in the Middle East and North Africa'' (2017) * "The Trump Administration's Africa policy" (2019), ''African Affairs'' * ''Imperialism and Development: the East African Groundnut Scheme and its legacy'' (2020),

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westcott, Nicholas 1956 births Living people High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Ghana Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Burkina Faso 20th-century British male writers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Togo British expatriates in the United States Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Niger British expatriates in Tanzania Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ivory Coast 21st-century British diplomats 20th-century British diplomats Politicians from Guildford Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge People educated at Epsom College Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 21st-century British male writers