Edward Anthony Oakden is a British diplomat, the Ambassador to Jordan from 2015 to 2020. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Career

*In 1981 he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *From 1984 to 1985 he was Third Secretary (later Second Secretary) in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

. *From 1985 to 1988 he was Second Secretary British Embassy in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. *From 1988 to 1992 he was Private Secretary to the Ambassador in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

*From 1992 to 1995 he was Deputy Head of the EU, External & Eastern Adriatic Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *From 1995 to 1997 he was Private Secretary to

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Northern Ireland. *From 1997 to 1998 he was Deputy Head EU Department (Internal) in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *From 1998 to 2002 he was Deputy Head of Mission in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

*From 2002 to 2004 he was Director for International Security in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *In 2002 he was head of Security Policy Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *From 2004 to 2006 he was Director for Defence and Strategic Threats and Ambassador for

Counter-Terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *From 2006 to 2010 he was Ambassador in Abu Dhabi (

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

). *From 2010 to 2012 he was Managing Director of a Sector Group of

UK Trade & Investment , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = UKtrade.svg , logo_width = 190px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Department for Business, Enter ...

. *From 2012 to 2013 he was Managing Director of

. *From 2013 to 2015 he was Director of the department

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, with responsibility for Persian Gulf countries,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. *On he was appointed ambassador to Amman, where he is accredited from to 2020. He was succeeded by

Bridget Brind Bridget Brind is a British civil servant and diplomat, currently serving as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Jordan. Early life Career Brind joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1995. Brind worked in the Department f ...

Personal life

He is married to Dr Florence Eid and has three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakden, Edward Anthony 1959 births Living people People educated at Repton School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Jordan Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George