Quinton Mark Quayle (born 5 June 1955) is a British retired

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 ...

Early life, education and early career

Educated at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

Humphry Davy School Humphry Davy School is a comprehensive school in Penzance, Cornwall, England. The school teaches 11 to 16-year-olds. History The oldest part of the main school building was completed in 1909. It was originally called the Penzance County School ...

and

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, Quayle entered the Foreign Office in 1977 and studied Thai at the

School of Oriental and African Studies 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 ...

, University of London and at

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University (CMU; ) is a national public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, ...

Diplomatic career

Before being sent to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, Quayle's previous Diplomatic Service postings included: *

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand (Second Secretary, Political) *

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France (First Secretary, Political) *

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia (Deputy Head of Mission) Quayle served as

British Ambassador to Romania The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Romania is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Romania, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Romania. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to Romania''. ...

from 2002 until 2006, after which he was concurrently appointed as Her Majesty's

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 ...

to the

Kingdom of Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and (non-resident) Ambassador to the

Lao People's Democratic Republic Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west an ...

. He took up this post in August 2007, succeeding

David Fall David Athelstane "Dave" Fall (December 4, 1902 – November 9, 1964) was an American diver who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Fall competed collegiately for Oregon State University and Stanford University. At the 1924 Olympics ...

, and was replaced in November 2010 by Asif Ahmad. Quayle spent a lot of time in his roles as Ambassador promoting trade and investment and worked very closely with the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (BCCT); his job directly before his posting to Bucharest was as International Group Director with

UK Trade and Investment UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) was a UK Government department working with businesses based in the United Kingdom to assist their success in international markets, and with overseas investors looking to the UK as an investment destination. It wa ...

Other work

He has also worked in the private sector for

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along ...

Management Consultants and VT Group. From 2011 to 2016, he served on the boards of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. He also acted as Senior Adviser to De La Rue, Salamander Energy (now Medco Energi Global) in this period. More recently, he has served as a lay member of the Queen's Counsel Appointments Panel, as a board member of Cottsway Housing Association, as a Public Interest Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, as a Non-Executive Director of 2gether NHS Foundation Trust and sat on the Governing Council of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. International roles included serving as Advisor to the President and CEO of Thai Beverages and as Senior Advisor to Prudential. He currently serves as an Adviser to Gurin Energy in Thailand and, in the UK, as Chair/Panel Member of both the High Speed 2 (HS2) and East West Railways "Need to Sell" Panels and as Senior Independent Director and Independent Commissioner at the Data and Marketing Commission.

Personal life

He is married to Alison Quayle, a retired professional translator, and has two sons, Christopher and Alexander, both of whom work in the banking industry. His father was Eric Quayle, a British writer and book collector.

References

Offices held

External links

UK in Thailand, Foreign & Commonwealth Office – Our ambassador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quayle, Quinton 1955 births Living people Members of HM Diplomatic Service People educated at Bromsgrove School People educated at Humphry Davy Grammar School for Boys Alumni of SOAS University of London Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Romania Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Thailand Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Laos 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats