Benjamin Robert Merrick is a British civil servant who was Director of

Overseas Territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

at the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development 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 ...

from August 2017 until July 2021.

Career

He held the position of Commissioner of the

British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and betwee ...

and Commissioner of the

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...

, prior to that he was the deputy director of the Overseas Territories and was among the cabinet office of

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

as Head of Arms Control and Counter Proliferation Policy from 2012 to 2015. He helped initiate the Anguilla Economic Resiliance Programme (AERP) with

Ellis Lorenzo Webster Ellis Lorenzo Webster (born 25 March 1963) is an Anguillan politician and physician. He is the former Premier of Anguilla, premier of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla and current Leader of the Opposition, first elected when he led the A ...

to provide economic stability for Anguilla. He took a stance against

Andrew Fahie Andrew Alturo Fahie (, born 7 August 1970) is a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from ...

, the

Premier of the British Virgin Islands The Premier of the Virgin Islands is the head of government for the British Virgin Islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Premier is appointed by the Governor on behalf of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. Until 2007, the ...

, saying that Fahie had decreased engagement from the British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom, including cancellation of visits. He also said Fahie was making misleading statements that the UK was forcing the islands to hand over almost full contorl of the management of the territory's finances to the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA). Fahie later refuted these claims, calling Merrick's statements PR games and said that his government had been in contact with the UK and said Merrick's letter was an attempt to damage his reputation as Premier. He also served as a member of the British Antarctic Territory directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Since 2019 he has been deputy Disability Champion for the Civil Service. 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to British foreign policy.

Personal life

Merrick is legally blind.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, Ben 1988 births Living people Members of HM Diplomatic Service Commissioners of the British Antarctic Territory Commissioners of the British Indian Ocean Territory English blind people Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 21st-century British diplomats