Peter Ricketts, Baron Ricketts

The Right Honourable The Lord Ricketts GCMG GCVO
Her Majesty's Ambassador to France
In office 2012–2016
Monarch	Elizabeth II
President	Francois Hollande
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Sir Peter Westmacott
Succeeded by	Sir Julian King
United Kingdom National Security Advisor
In office 2010–2012
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Sir Kim Darroch
Permanent Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
In office 2006–2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Sir Michael Jay
Succeeded by	Sir Simon Fraser
Personal details
Born	Peter Forbes Ricketts 30 September 1952 Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Suzanne Ricketts
Children	2
Alma mater	Bishop Vesey's Grammar School Pembroke College, Oxford
Occupation	Diplomat

Peter Forbes Ricketts, Baron Ricketts, GCMG, GCVO (born 30 September 1952^[1]) is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords.

Personal life

Ricketts attended Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield, and Pembroke College, Oxford where he read English Literature. In 1982 he married Suzanne Horlington; they have two adult children.^[2]

Career

Ricketts replaced Peter Westmacott as UK Ambassador to France effective January 2012, with Kim Darroch taking Ricketts's old role as National Security Adviser.^[3]

In December 2015 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that he was to retire from the Diplomatic Service in January 2016.^[4]

Prior to his appointment as National Security Adviser, Lord Ricketts had been the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Before he took over that position in July 2006, he served as the Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels. He was also previously the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, leading him to give evidence to The Iraq Inquiry in November 2009.^[5] He began his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1974 and served as the Assistant Private Secretary to former Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe. Apart from Brussels, he has been posted to Singapore, Washington D.C. and Paris. Ricketts retired from HM Diplomatic Service in January 2016.

Retirement

In 2016 he took appointments as Strategic Adviser to Lockheed Martin UK and Non Executive Director of Engie.^[6]

Honours

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 2003,^[7] Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2011 New Year Honours,^[8] and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 2014.^[9]

He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was created Baron Ricketts, of Shortlands in the County of Kent, on 17 October.^[10][11]

See also

• Politics of the United Kingdom

References

1. Foreign Policy in an Era of Globalisation. Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations. Thursday 15 2009.
2. Who's Who 2001. A&C Black, London. p. 1751. ISBN 0-7136-5432-5. Accessed 2 August 2016.
3. "Senior Diplomatic Appointments". Number 10. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
4. "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to France". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 18 December 2015.
5. "Iraq inquiry told of 'clear' threat from Saddam Hussein". BBC News. BBC. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57100. p. 10. 31 October 2003.
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59647. p. 3. 31 December 2010.
9. The London Gazette: no. 60916. p. 12742. 27 June 2014.
10. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/543973/resignation_peerages_2016.pdf
11. The London Gazette: no. 61738. p. 22392. 21 October 2016.

External links

• Biography of Sir Peter on the UK Government's site