David Reddaway CMG MBE

David Reddaway presented his credentials to President Gul as British Ambassador to Turkey on 7 September 2009.  

David Reddaway was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1953. He was educated at Oundle School and at Cambridge University, where he obtained his BA and MA in History. Before going up to Cambridge, he worked as a volunteer teacher in Ethiopia.

David Reddaway joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1975.  He moved to the British Embassy in Tehran as Third Secretary (Commercial) in 1977, and was in Iran throughout the Islamic Revolution. He switched in 1978 from commercial to political/press work. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980.

After serving in Madrid as First Secretary (Political) from 1980-84, he returned to London to work in the FCO. In 1986 he became Private Secretary to the Minister of State in the FCO.

In 1988, David Reddaway was posted to New Delhi, dealing with India's external relations. He left at short notice in 1990 to reopen the British Embassy in Tehran on the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and spent three years in Tehran as Chargé d'Affaires. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1993.

David Reddaway was Minister at the British Embassy in Argentina from 1993-1997. He returned to London as Head of Southern European Department, dealing with issues such as Gibraltar; Cyprus; and Turkey's candidacy for EU membership. He was promoted to Director (Public Services) in 1999. His responsibilities included the FCO's work with the British and overseas media; its relationships with Parliament, the Devolved Administrations, the BBC World Service and the British Council; consular, cultural and public diplomacy work; and the UK's global visa operation.

In 2002, David Reddaway served as the UK's Special Representative for Afghanistan, with the personal rank of Ambassador. He subsequently spent a year as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University.

From 2003-6, David Reddaway was British High Commissioner to Canada, supervising a network of five offices and focussing heavily on the promotion of inward investment and trade.

From 2006-9, he was Ambassador to Ireland.

David Reddaway's interests include history; skiing; tennis; trekking; watching international rugby; and Persian carpets and art.

David Reddaway married Roshan Firouz in 1981. She was educated in Iran and at university in the USA, and trained at the English Gardening School.  She is a keen rider and is involved in the conservation of the Kurdish and Turkoman horse breeds.

The Reddaways have two sons (born 1983 and 1996) and a daughter (born 1987).