Jane Marriott has been appointed as the new UK Ambassador to Kenya ahead of the current ambassador Nic Hailey’s departure in September 2019. She becomes the first woman UK ambassador to Kenya.
Marriott is a career diplomat who started out in Foreign and Commonwealth office in 2001 after serving in the country’s cabinet office and home office. She has been serving as the Director for Joint International Counter-Terrorism Unit in the Home Office. She previously served in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and High Commissioner to Yemen between 2013 and 2015. She has worked in Kabul (Afghanistan), Al-Amar (Iraq), and Baghdad as an advisor to the coalition forces combating terrorism. She has also served as an adviser to the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. She awarded the officer of the most excellent order of the British Empire honours in 2004.
“Marriott brings a wealth of experience to the position, having worked across many UK Government Departments including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence,” a statement from the High Commission stated.
Hailey, has been the UK ambassador to Kenya since December 2015, announced his departure from Kenya on June 6 when he hosted a commemorative event to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 93rd birthday at his official residence in Nairobi. He succeeded Christian Turner.