Robert Leigh Turner (born 13 March 1958) is a British writer and retired diplomat. His final role was British Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna from August 2016 to September 2021.

Career

From September 2012 to July 2016 Turner was British Consul-General in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, a post which included responsibility for UK Trade and Investment work in Turkey, South Caucasus, Central Asia and Ukraine. From June 2008 to July 2012 he was British ambassador to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, resident in Kyiv. From 2006 to 2008 he was Director, Overseas Territories in 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 ...

; 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 ...

. Born in March 1958, he graduated from

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

in 1979, joining the Civil Service as an administrative trainee the same year. After working in the Departments of

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and Environment, and the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

, he joined the

in 1983 and had postings in Austria, Russia, Germany, Ukraine and Turkey before returning to Vienna. Whilst on unpaid leave, between 2002 and 2006, he wrote travel articles for the ''Financial Times'', ''The Boston Globe'' and other newspapers. Turner 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 2014 New Year Honours for services to British interests in Ukraine and Turkey. Turner was succeeded as Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna by Lindsay Skoll in September 2021. He then retired from the Diplomatic Service. As Ambassador, Turner wrote and published fiction under the name Robert Pimm. Since his retirement he continues to write a blog and has published several novels and a collection of short stories under his own name. His diplomatic handbook "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Diplomacy - Wie Diplomatie die Welt erklärt" was published in German by Czernin Verlag, Vienna in 2023. A revised and updated edition was published in English as "Lessons in Diplomacy: Politics, Power and Parties" by Policy Press in September 2024.

References

External links

Leigh Turner
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

English blog

Writing Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Leigh 1958 births Living people Commissioners of the British Antarctic Territory Commissioners of the British Indian Ocean Territory Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ukraine Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service Civil servants in the Ministry of Transport (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Department of the Environment Civil servants in HM Treasury Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats