Sir James Sebastian Lamin Wood, (; born 6 April 1961), usually known by his middle name Sebastian, is a British diplomat who was the Ambassador to China from 2010 to 2015,HE Mr Sebastian Wood, CMG
''Debrett's'', 2010 and Ambassador to Germany from 2015 to 2020.

Career

Wood was educated at

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ra ...

in London, then studied mathematics and philosophy at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, before joining 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 1983. He was posted to the British Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand; then was appointed as a First Secretary to the

Sino-British Joint Liaison Group Sino-British Joint Liaison Group () or simply Joint Liaison Group was a meeting group formed in 1985 between the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the People's Republic of China after signing of Sino–B ...

working on the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special admini ...

.British Ambassador to China: Sebastian Wood
Government of the United Kingdom. In 2002, while posted as a Counsellor at the British Embassy in Washington DC, he 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).

Ambassador to China

In 2010, he was granted his first ambassadorship as British Ambassador to China.Sebastian Wood new UK ambassador to China
''China Daily'', 27 January 2010. He was appointed

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 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 British prosperity and British interests in China.

Ambassador to Germany

In July 2015 the FCO announced that Wood was to become

British Ambassador to Germany The British Ambassador to Germany is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Federal Republic of Germany, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Germany. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassado ...

in September 2015. In July 2020 it was announced that he would retire from the Diplomatic Service in November, and be succeeded by

Jill Gallard Jill Gallard is a British diplomat who took up the post of British Ambassador to Germany in November 2020. Previously she was the British Ambassador to Portugal, director of human resources at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and deputy pol ...

as Ambassador to Germany.

Personal life

Wood is married to Sirinat Wood, a Thai, and has one son and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Sebastian 1961 births Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Emanuel School