List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iceland

The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Iceland is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Iceland, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Iceland. There official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland.

British Ambassador to Iceland
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Bryony Mathew since August 2021
Reports to	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Residence	Reykjavík
Inaugural holder	Charles Howard Smith First Envoy extraordinary to Iceland Andrew Gilchrist First Ambassador to Iceland
Formation	1939 Envoys extraordinary 1957 Ambassadors extraordinary
Website	www.gov.uk/world/iceland

British Embassy, Reykjavík

Both the British embassy and the ambassador's residence are in Reykjavík. The British embassy shares a site and several common facilities with the German embassy.

History

The UK's first representative to Iceland was appointed during the Second World War. Until then, Iceland had been a dependency of Denmark and then, since 1918, a sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark, with Denmark handling Icelandic foreign policy. On 9 April 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Denmark and the British Minister, Charles Smith, who had been appointed only six months previously,^[1] and his staff were expelled. Immediately, Iceland declared itself responsible for its own foreign affairs, and declared strict neutrality.

To prevent the emergence of a pro-Nazi government in Reykjavík, and help fight the Battle of the Atlantic, the United Kingdom occupied Iceland on 10 May 1940. With the British troops, Charles Howard Smith arrived as envoy to the Icelandic government. Smith died in his post in 1942, and was replaced by Gerald Shepherd (later Sir Gerald) the following year.^[2] In 1944, still at the height of the war, Iceland declared its full independence from Denmark.

Although the diplomatic mission in Iceland is not a large one, nor particularly prestigious, its importance during the Cold War was disproportionate, due to its strategic location in the North Atlantic. More crucial to British interests was the string of diplomatic and economic disputes related to fishing rights, which culminated in the Cod Wars.

List of heads of mission

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

• 1940–1942: Charles Howard Smith^[3]
• 1943–1947: Sir Gerald Shepherd^[4]
• 1947–1950: Charles Baxter^[5]
• 1950–1953: John Greenway^[6]
• 1953–1956: James Henderson^[7]
• 1956–1957: Andrew Gilchrist^[8]

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

• 1957–1959: Andrew Gilchrist^[9]
• 1959–1962: Charles Stewart^[10]
• 1962–1965: Basil Boothby^[11]
• 1966–1970: Aubrey Halford-MacLeod^[12]
• 1970–1975: John McKenzie^[13]
• 1975–1981: Kenneth East^[14]
• 1981–1983: William McQuillan^[15]
• 1983–1986: Richard Thomas^[16]
• 1986–1989: Mark Chapman^[17]
• 1989–1991: Sir Richard Best^[18]
• 1991–1993: Patrick Wogan^[19]
• 1993–1996: Michael Hone^[20]
• 1996–2000: James McCulloch^[21]
• 2001–2004: John Culver^[22]
• 2004–2008: Alp Mehmet^[23]
• 2008–2012: Ian Whitting^[24]
• 2012–2016: Stuart Gill^[25]
• 2016–2021: Michael Nevin^[26]
• August 2021–present^[update]: Bryony Mathew^[27]

References

1. The London Gazette, 31 October 1939
2. The London Gazette, 3 March 1944
3. SMITH, Charles Howard, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 3 Jan 2013
4. SHEPHERD, Sir (Edward Henry) Gerald, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 3 Jan 2013
5. The London Gazette, 30 January 1948
6. The London Gazette, 31 August 1951
7. The London Gazette, 28 July 1953
8. The London Gazette, 20 November 1956
9. The London Gazette, 11 October 1957
10. The London Gazette, 22 January 1960
11. The London Gazette, 27 July 1962
12. The London Gazette, 4 March 1966
13. The London Gazette, 20 October 1970
14. The London Gazette, 11 September 1975
15. The London Gazette, 9 July 1981
16. THOMAS, Richard, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
17. CHAPMAN, Mark Fenger, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
18. BEST, Sir Richard (Radford), Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
19. WOGAN, Patrick Francis Michael, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
20. HONE, Michael Stuart, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
21. McCULLOCH, James Rae, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
22. CULVER, John Howard, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
23. MEHMET, Alper, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
24. WHITTING, Ian Robert, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012, accessed 3 Jan 2013
25. "Our Ambassador". Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) – UK in Iceland
26. "Michael Nevin, British Ambassador to Iceland". gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
27. "British Ambassador to Iceland Dr Bryony Mathew". FCDO. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

External links

• UK and Iceland, gov.uk
• Previous ambassadors at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 February 2011)