Peter Michael Alexander Wilson (born 31 March 1968) is a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

whose most recent post was to serve as

Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is ...

. He has also served as

British Ambassador to Brazil The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Brazil is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Brazil and the head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Brazil. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Federa ...

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

and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to 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 ...

Early life

Wilson is a son of

David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, (, born 14 February 1935) is a retired British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. He was the penultimate Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong (from 1987 to 1992). He served as L ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. He also has a

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mound ...

degree from the

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

at Harvard University.

Career

Wilson 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) in 1992 and was posted to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

where he studied Mandarin at the University of International Business and Economics. He served at the British embassy in Beijing 1995–98. In early 1999 he was appointed to the cabinet of Sir Leon Brittan, who was a

Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...

. After Brittan resigned with the rest of the

Santer Commission The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer (former Prime Minister of Luxembourg). The body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of ...

in March 1999, Wilson continued as First Secretary at the UK representation to the EU. He was head of the Strategic Policy Team at the FCO 2003–04; Political Counsellor at Islamabad 2005–06 and at Beijing 2007–10; and Director, Asia Pacific, at the FCO 2010–13. He was deputy

permanent representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

(with the rank of ambassador) 2013–17. In January 2017 the FCO announced Wilson's appointment as Ambassador to the Netherlands. He took up the post when

King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatr ...

received his credentials on 23 August 2017. On 30 August that same year he presented his credentials to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In January 2021 he was appointed Ambassador to Brazil. On 8 March 2022 Wilson was announced as

, filling the vacancy that had been left by Martin Reynolds' resignation earlier that year. However, Wilson vacated the role after six months when

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

became Prime Minister on 6 September 2022 and appointed Nick Catsaras as her new Principal Private Secretary.

Personal life

Wilson is married with three children.

Honours

Wilson was appointed CMG in the

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were 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 as part of ...

"for services to strengthening British foreign policy in Asia".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Peter 1968 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Harvard Kennedy School alumni Sons of life peers 20th-century British diplomats Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister