New British envoy takes charge in city

After joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2004, he first worked on counter terrorism and then the Western Balkans, before being appointed in the British Embassy in Brazil on energy and global climate change.

Between 2011 and 2017, Oliver was the Political Consul with the British Consulate-General in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, he has been the deputy head of the UK government’s UN Peacekeeping Joint Unit. During his nine years in Brazil, Oliver was also the Olympic and Paralympic Attaché for the British teams at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

His efforts were recognised when Oliver was appointed a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours List. As the head of the Deputy High Commission in Chennai, Oliver’s role would include promoting business and trade and also strengthening relationships between Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the UK. “UK and India have been among the top five investors in each other’s economies since 2010.

Last year, Tamil Nadu alone accounted for a third of all UK investment in India. I’m glad to be representing the UK when our business relationship in this region is growing,” he said. Straight after university, Oliver spent three months teaching in a junior school in Punjab, before travelling the country by train. He has both a degree and an honorary doctorate in law.