The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the Embassy to France has been the most prestigious posting in the British foreign service, although in past centuries, diplomatic representation was lacking due to wars between the two countries and the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

. For the period before the creation of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

in 1801, see List of ambassadors of the Kingdom of England to France (up to 1707) and List of ambassadors of Great Britain to France (from 1707 to 1800). The Paris embassy also covers remotely the French overseas territories (including

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

, Guadeloupe, Martinique,

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, Réunion, French Polynesia, Mayotte,

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

, New Caledonia, Saint-Barthélemy) and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Besides the embassy, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office maintains

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

s in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

in southern France.

British Ambassadors and Ministers to France

:''There was no representation of Great Britain or the United Kingdom in France from 1792 to 1801, due to the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

'' *1801–1802: The Marquess Cornwallis, ''Plenipotentiary'' *1802–1803: The Lord WhitworthS. T. Bindoff, E. F. Malcolm Smith and C. K. Webster, ''British Diplomatic Representatives 1789–1852'' (Camden 3rd Series, 50, 1934). :''No representation from 1803 to 1814, due to the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

'' :*1806: Francis Seymour-Conway, Earl of Yarmouth and

James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (26 January 1759 – 10 September 1839) was Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and a representative peer for Scotland in the House of Lords. Early years Born at Haltoun House near Ratho, the eldest s ...

, ''Plenipotentiaries'' *1814–1815:

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

*1815–1824: Sir Charles Stuart *1824–1828: The Viscount Granville *1828–1830: The Lord Stuart de Rothesay *1830–1835: The Viscount Granville *1835: The Lord Cowley *1835–1841: The Earl Granville *1841–1846: The Lord Cowley *1846–1852: The Marquess of Normanby *1852–1867: The Earl Cowley *1867–1887: The Viscount Lyons *1887–1891: The Earl of Lytton *1891–1896: The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava *1896–1905: Sir Edmund Monson *1905–1918: Sir

Francis Bertie Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ( "barty of tame"; 17 August 1844 – 26 September 1919) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Italy between 1903 and 1905 and Ambassador to France between 1905 and 1918. Background ...

*1918–1920: The Earl of Derby *1920–1922: The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst *1922–1928: The Marquess of Crewe *1928–1934: Sir William Tyrrell *1934–1937: Sir George Clerk *1937–1939: Sir

Eric Phipps Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps (27 October 1875 – 13 August 1945) was a British diplomat. Family Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife, Maria Jane (née Miller Mundy). Henry Phipps ...

*1939–1940: Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell :''No representation from 1940 to 1944, due to the German occupation of France during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

'' *1944–1948: Sir Alfred Duff Cooper, (previously Representative to the Free French in Algiers from 1943) *1948–1954: Sir Oliver Harvey *1954–1960: Sir

Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn (25 April 1900 – 24 October 1996) was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Early ...

*1960–1965: Sir

Pierson Dixon Sir Pierson John Dixon (13 November 190422 April 1965) was a British diplomat and writer. He was known to be a firm believer in the value of diplomacy to solve international issues. Career Dixon was the Principal Private Secretary to the For ...

*1965–1968: Sir

Patrick Reilly Sir Patrick Reilly, GCMG (17 March 1909 – 6 October 1999) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to the USSR and France. He held several senior posts and was called "the perfect mandarin." Biography D'Arcy Patrick Reilly was born at ...

*1968–1972: Sir

Christopher Soames Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliame ...

*1972–1975: Sir Edward Tomkins *1975–1979: Sir Nicholas Henderson *1979–1982: Sir Reginald Hibbert *1982–1987: Sir John Fretwell *1987–1993: Sir Ewen Fergusson *1993–1996: Sir Christopher Mallaby *1996–2001: Sir Michael Jay *2001–2007: Sir John Holmes *2007–2012: Sir Peter Westmacott *2012–2015: Sir

Peter Ricketts Peter Forbes Ricketts, Baron Ricketts, (born 30 September 1952) is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2016. Ricketts served as chair of the Joint Intelligence Committe ...

*2016–2016: Sir Julian King *2016–2021: Edward Llewellyn, Baron Llewellyn of Steep OBE *2021–: Dame Menna Rawlings

References

List of Ambassadors to France since 1814
British Embassy, France

External links

UK and France
''gov.uk'' {{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

British Ambassadors and Ministers to France

See also

References

External links