A diplomat from Harrogate has been appointed the UK’s new ambassador to Iraq. 

Stephen Hitchen takes over the role from Mark Bryson-Richardson, who has been in post since July 2021. 

On his Twitter feed, Mr Hitchen said:

The son of a solicitor and Methodist lay preacher, Mr Hitchen has deep family roots in the area, and was a pupil at St Peter’s CE Primary School and Ashville College. 

Upon graduation he joined the civil service and worked for the Ministry of Defence for eight years, including 18 months’ full-time Arabic language training. 

Following postings to Cairo and Kuwait, he became head of the Iran political team in the Middle East and North Africa directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 2012 he was made head of Middle East reporting in the same department. 

After three years as counsellor regional affairs based in Amman, Jordan, he became the FCO’s director of national security for the Middle East and North Africa, and lastly was appointed director of the counter terrorism department at the renamed Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

In a video post on the British Embassy's Facebook page, Mr Hitchen, who is fluent in Arabic, said:

Mr Hitchen will take up his post next month. Most UK ambassadors to Iraq over the last 20 years have spent two years in the post. 

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