He was educated at Rugby School and Jesus College, Cambridge University, where he studied history.
He held a Kennedy Scholarship at Harvard, where he received a Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree.
[citation needed] He was Economic and Commercial Secretary at the British Embassy in Brasilia between 1982 and 1985.
[5] Over the course of his FCO career, he was the Head of South America Department (1987–1989), Commercial and Economic Counsellor in Italy (1989–1994), Ambassador to Estonia (1994–1997), Consul-General in Milan (1997–2001) and Director of Protocol and Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps (2002–2006).
[6] He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) on 16 October 2000.