Ross Patrick Denny (born 1955) is a British diplomat who has been the British Ambassador to Costa Rica and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

since 2015. He was appointed as ambassador on 3 February 2015 and succeeded

Sharon Campbell Sharon Campbell is a British diplomat who was the British Ambassador to Haiti until August 2020. From 2011 to 2015 she was the British Ambassador to Costa Rica. She and her husband, Chris Campbell, were the first married couple ever to be amb ...

and Chris Campbell in September that year.

Pre-consular career

Before joining the Foreign Service, Denny served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

from 1972 until 1979.

Consular career

Denny 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 1979 and first worked in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and Atlantic Department. In 1980, he was moved to be an Accountant for the British Embassy in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and stayed there for three years. He was then moved to the British Embassy in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

to be an Assistant Management Officer. In 1985, Denny was posted to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Vice Consul 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 ...

and from 1988 to 1990 he was a Desk Officer in the Personnel Department of the FCO. He then became Desk Officer for the

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and South West Pacific Department and in 1992 was sent to

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 ...

as a Second Secretary. Denny was made Deputy Head of Mission in

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

under Ambassador John Thompson from 2002 to 2005. In 2008, he was appointed the

Administrator of Ascension The Administrator of Ascension is the head of government and representative of the Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in Ascension Island. The role of the Administrator includes that of chairing the territory's Island Counc ...

. He remained in the post for three years before he was made United Kingdom Ambassador to Bolivia. He stayed as Bolivian ambassador until 2015 when he was made Ambassador to Costa Rica and Non-Resident Ambassador to Nicaragua. In 2018, Denny said that he was "deeply concerned" about the violence of the

2018 Nicaraguan protests The 2018 Nicaraguan protests began on 18 April 2018 when demonstrators in several cities of Nicaragua began protests against the social security reforms decreed by President Daniel Ortega that increased taxes and decreased benefits. After five ...

and called on the government to "uphold ... the human rights of all Nicaraguans".

Personal life

Denny has a wife and four children, two sons and two daughters. He can speak Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Dutch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Ross Patrick Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Costa Rica Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Nicaragua Members of HM Diplomatic Service 1955 births People from Southampton 20th-century British diplomats