Michael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, (born 19 June 1946) is a British politician and former

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He sits as a

Crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and previously served as Ambassador to France and Permanent Under Secretary at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

Education

Jay was born in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

(at which he read

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

), of which he is an honorary fellow, and the University of London's

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) 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 area ...

(SOAS). He served as a volunteer teacher in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Diplomatic career

Jay joined the Ministry of Overseas Development in 1969, serving in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

) in 1973 and as First Secretary (Development) at the British High Commission, New Delhi, in 1978. He transferred to the

in 1981, serving as Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State. As Counsellor he served in the European Secretariat of the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

from 1985 to 1987. He was posted as Counsellor in the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Embassy from 1987 to 1990, returning to the FCO as Director for European Affairs until 1994. He was appointed Director General for European and Economic Affairs 1994–96, following which he became a Senior Associate Member of

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

. From July 1996 to September 2001 he was British Ambassador to France. During this tenure, he was the first British official to speak publicly on the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

in August 1997. In July 2001, he was appointed

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790. Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State f ...

and thus Head of the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

, a post he took up on 14 January 2002. In 2005 and 2006, Jay served as the Prime Minister's Personal Representative (

Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

) for the G8 summits at Gleneagles and St Petersburg in addition to his PUS duties. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael & St George in the

1992 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published ...

, promoted to Knight Commander in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

and made a Knight Grand Cross in the

2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before t ...

Post retirement

Upon his retirement from HM's Diplomatic Service on 27 July 2006, he was recommended for a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age, and this was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

as Baron Jay of Ewelme, of

Ewelme Ewelme () is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, northeast of the market town of Wallingford. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,048. To the east of the village is Cow Common and to ...

in the County of Oxfordshire, on 18 September 2006. Lord Jay was the Chair of

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

, the British health and medical aid agency, from 2007 until 2013. He has been a non-executive director of Associated British Foods (2006-), Credit Agricole (2007-2011), EDF (2009-), Candover PLC (2008-)and Valeo SA (2007-). He is a Trustee of the Thomson Reuters Founders share company (2013-), and Chairman of the Advisory Council of the British Library (2011 -). He was Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission from 2008 until 2013 and has served on sub-committees C, E and F of the House of Lords Select Committee on European Union affairs.

Family

Jay married Sylvia Mylroie in 1975. In 2005, Lady Jay was appointed vice-chairman of

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

UK & Ireland, then chairman from 2011 to 2013. She has been a non-executive director on the board of

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel-Lucent S.A. () was a multinational telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France. The company focused on Fixed line telephone, fixed, Mobile phone, mobile and telecommunications convergence, ...

, and is non-executive director of St-Gobain, Lazard and Casino Group. She is Chairman of the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is an independent charitable grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. The Trust's aims are to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable and preserve the best of the past for the public to enjoy. The Trust awards approxima ...

and has been a trustee of the

Prison Reform Trust The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community puni ...

and the Entente Cordiale Scholarship Scheme. In 2019, she was appointed as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire.

Arms

References

External links

Announcement of life peerage

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Michael 1946 births Living people People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of SOAS University of London Jay of Ewelme, Michael Jay, Baron Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France Jay of Ewelme, Michael Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, Michael Jay, Baron Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Civil servants in the Ministry of Overseas Development Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats Life peers created by Elizabeth II