James Edward Dauris (born 1966) is a British diplomat, currently British Ambassador to Panama since March 2024, and previously the ambassador of the

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

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and as the High Commissioner of the UK to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Career

Dauris was schooled at Haileybury. He graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

with a degree in Law After university he trained to be a Solicitor and worked for Ashurst Morris Crisp from 1991. Dauris changed careers and joined 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 1995. For his first overseas posting he was First Secretary (Commercial) at the British Embassy in Moscow. He served as a Deputy Head of Mission in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

from 2005 to 2009. He then served as Ambassador to Peru between 2010 and 2014. In April 2015, he was appointed as the new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka until August 2019 and Sarah Hulton was formally appointed during April 2019, prior to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, replacing him from August 2019. In March 2024, the Foreign Office announced Dauris's appointment as British ambassador to Panama that month, to succeed Tim Stew.

Criticisms

During the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis, the Professionals' National Front (PNF), a minority political party requested him to stay away from involving in internal affairs of the state unnecessarily.

Personal life

He is married to Helen Dauris and the couple have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dauris, James 1966 births Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka High commissioners of the United Kingdom to the Maldives Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College