Sir David Alexander Warren, KCMG (born 11 August 1952) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

, serving as HM

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the period 2008–2012. He retired from 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 ...

in January 2013, and served as chairman of The Japan Society in London from 2013 to 2019.

Biography

Educated at Homefield Preparatory School when on Grove Road in Sutton, Surrey,

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a benevolent institution which provided a boarding school education for sons of poor or deceased members ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, Warren joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1975. He studied Japanese between 1976 and 1978 at the

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 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 ...

, and at the British Embassy language school in Kamakura, Japan.
/ref> Warren dealt with EU/

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

relations (and multilateral trade policy issues more generally) in the FCO's European Community Department from 1983 to 1986. From 1987 to 1990, he served as Head of the Political Section in the British High Commission in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He returned to

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 ...

as the Deputy Head of the FCO's Far Eastern Department from 1990 to 1991. He was seconded to the Cabinet Office (Office of Science and Technology) for two years from 1991, as the Head of the International Division, dealing among other issues with UK/Japan science and technology co-operation (the recycling of waste from nuclear reactors by British Nuclear Fuels being a key issue in this relationship). Following his second tour of duty in Tokyo, from 1998 to 2000 he was the Head of the FCO's

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Department. In 2000, he became one of the Directors and senior management team for the new Government trade promotion organisation, British Trade International, later UK Trade and Investment, where he spent the next four years in charge of different aspects of sector and market-oriented international trade development. In 2004, he was appointed Director, Human Resources, for the FCO, and a member of the FCO Board of Management. Having already been invested

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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG), Warren was advanced

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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the 2012 New Year Honours. He was a member of the Council of the University of Kent between 2013 and 2021, and served as Chair of Council between 2014 and 2020. He served as Chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council from June 2021 to March 2025. He was a non-executive director of Aberdeen (later abrdn) Japan Investment Trust from 2015 to its merger with another fund in 2023.

Honours

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(2018)

Sources

Brit envoy, three Japanese staff hailed for disaster efforts
Japan Times, 1 January 2012.

Japan Times, 4 March 2012

Japan Times, 14 September 2012. * Hollingworth, William (2012

Japan Times, 28 November 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, David 1952 births Living people Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Japan Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Epsom College 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Presidents of the Oxford Union