ANNOUNCEMENT
New British Ambassador, Matthew Lodge, presents his credentials
to H.E. The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Matthew Lodge presented his credentials to Her Excellency The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou on 22 September.
On the occasion of the ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic, Matthew Lodge, stated:
“It is an enormous pleasure to be taking up the position of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Greece. And it’s particularly moving for me as I have had close ties with Greece for the past twenty years or so.
From today it will be my honour to represent my country, to work for the interest of British nationals in Greece, and to work tirelessly to cultivate the excellent relationship between our two countries.
Together I am confident that we will confront and overcome the common challenges that face us, and work together to make the most of opportunities for the future.”
This is Matthew Lodge's second appointment to Athens - his first term was between 1998 and 2000, where he served as First Secretary of the Political Department.
NOTE
Matthew Lodge was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Marines on leaving school in 1986. He was sponsored through Birmingham University from where he graduated with a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages (French and Russian). Subsequent duties with the Royal Marines included service in Norway and the United States, and a secondment to the Army which included an operational tour in Northern Ireland and service in Kenya.
Matthew joined the Foreign and Commonwealth office in 1996. His early diplomatic career included work on the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, service in Georgia and Armenia, and postings to Athens (1998-2000), Paris (2001) and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels (2001-2003). From 2004 to 2007 he was Private Secretary to the FCO Permanent Under Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service.
In March 2007 Matthew was appointed as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Baghdad. On his return from Iraq, Matthew attended the Higher Command and Staff Course (2008) at the UK Defence Academy before being appointed as Head of the FCO’s Afghanistan Group.
From 2010 to 2013, Matthew was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Finland and from August 2014 to summer 2017 Matthew was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the State of Kuwait. In spring 2017, Matthew was appointed as Minister at the British Embassy in Paris, serving concurrently as Ambassador and Permanent delegate to UNESCO (2017-2021). In August 2021 Matthew was appointed as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic.
Matthew is married to Alexia and they have twin boys.
