Robert Leigh Turner CMG (born 13 March 1958) is a writer and British former 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.[2]
Leigh Turner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| British Ambassador to Austria | |
| In office 2016–2021 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque |
| Succeeded by | Lindsay Skoll |
| British Ambassador to Ukraine | |
| In office 2008–2012 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Tim Barrow |
| Succeeded by | Simon Smith |
| Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory and the British Antarctic Territory | |
| In office 2006–2008 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Tony Crombie |
| Succeeded by | Colin Roberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 March 1958[1] |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University |
| Occupation | Writer |
Career
editFrom September 2012 to July 2016 Turner was British Consul-General in Istanbul, 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, resident in Kyiv. From 2006 to 2008 he was Director, Overseas Territories in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory; and Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Born in March 1958, he graduated from Downing College, Cambridge in 1979, joining the Civil Service as an administrative trainee the same year. After working in the Departments of Transport and Environment, and the Treasury, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1983 and had postings in Austria, Russia, Germany, Ukraine and Turkey before returning to Vienna.[3]
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 (CMG) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to British interests in Ukraine and Turkey.[4]
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.[5]
As Ambassador, Turner wrote and published fiction under the name Robert Pimm. Since his retirement he continues to write a blog[6] and has published several novels and a collection of short stories[7] under his own name. He published "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Diplomacy - Wie Diplomatie die Welt erklärt", a diplomatic and life handbook published in German by Czernin Verlag, Vienna in 2023; this was republished in English as "Lessons in Diplomacy Politics, Power and Parties" by Policy Press in September 2024.[8]
References
edit- ^ Who's Who: TURNER, (Robert) Leigh
- ^ Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna [1], accessed 15 March 2016|
- ^ TURNER, (Robert) Leigh', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 7 May 2008
- ^ "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 3.
- ^ "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna: Lindsay Skoll" (Press release). GOV.UK. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ rleighturner.com
- ^ Amazon author page
- ^ "Lessons in Diplomacy - Politics, Power and Parties". Policy Press. Retrieved 23 September 2024.