Richard Moore (diplomat)

Richard Peter Moore, CMG (born 9 May 1963) is currently the Director General, Political, at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.[1][2][3][4] He was previously the British Ambassador to Turkey.[1][3][4] He will become the head of MI6 in autumn 2020.[5][6]

Richard Moore CMG
Director General, Political, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Incumbent
Assumed office April 2018
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Karen Pierce
British Ambassador to Turkey
In office January 2014 – December 2017
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	David Reddaway
Succeeded by	Dominick Chilcott
Personal details
Born	(1963-05-09) 9 May 1963 Tripoli, Libya
Spouse(s)	Margaret Patricia Isabel Martin (Maggie)
Children	2
Alma mater	Worcester College, Oxford (BA) Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Stanford Graduate School of Business

Education

Moore attended St George's College, Weybridge, a Roman Catholic independent school in Surrey.[3] Afterwards, Moore studied PPE at Worcester College, Oxford where he gained a bachelor's degree.[1][3] He then won a Kennedy Scholarship to study at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University.[1][3] In 2007, he attended the Stanford Executive Programme.[1][3]

Career

Moore's notable career has been in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, the first of which he joined in 1987.[3] He has had minor postings to Vietnam 1988, Turkey (1990, 1991–1992), Pakistan (1995–98), Iran (1992–95) and Malaysia (2001–2005) where he undertook a range of roles.[1][3] He was the section head of the Security Policy Group at the FCO from 1998 to 2001 and the Deputy Director of the Middle East from 2005 to 2008.[3]

Moore's first major role in the FCO was Director for Programmes and Change, a post which he held from 2008–2010.[1][3] He then went on to be Director for Europe, Latin America and Globalization (2010–2012).[1][3]

Moore's first public appointment was the British Ambassador to Turkey. He held this post for three years, from 2014 to 2017.[1][3][4] He then took a short stint as Deputy National Security Advisor (Intelligence, Security and Resilience) in 2018.[3][4] His current appointment is Director-General, Political in the FCO, a post which he has held since 2018 and will retire from in Autumn 2020.[1][3][4] On 29 July 2020, it was announced that Moore will become the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in autumn 2020.[5][6]

Personal life

Moore was born in Tripoli, Libya on the 9 May 1963 to John Robert Moore and (Norah) Patricia Moore (née Buckley)[3] In 1985, he married Margaret Patricia Isabel Martin (Maggie), with whom he has had a son and a daughter.[3]

In his spare time, Moore enjoys: golf; watching cricket and rugby; reading; TV; travel; hiking; scuba-diving; Turkish carpets and porcelain; and visiting historical sites.[1][3] He is fluent in Turkish.[7]

Moore is the grandson of Jack Buckley, a soldier who served for six years in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence between 1916 and 1922.[8]

References

1. "Richard Moore CMG". HM Government. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
2. "FCO Political Director in Lebanon, discusses security". British Embassy Beirut. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. "Moore, Richard Peter". Who's Who 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. "Richard Moore @UKPolDirRichard". Twitter. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
5. "MI6: Richard Moore named as new head of Secret Intelligence Service". BBC. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
6. "Appointment of the new Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)". HM Government. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
7. The Associated Press (29 July 2020). "Ex-Ambassador Made Head of British Intelligence Service MI6". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
8. "Grandson of Cork IRA man named chief of British spy agency". IrishCentral.com. 6 August 2020.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by David Reddaway	British Ambassador to Turkey 2014–2017	Succeeded by Sir Dominick Chilcott
Preceded by Karen Pierce	Director-General, Political of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2018–2020	Succeeded by To Be Decided