Michael Aron
British diplomat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Douglas Aron (born 22 March 1959) is a British diplomat who has been Ambassador to Kuwait, Iraq, Libya and Sudan, and Yemen.
Charles III
Michael Aron | |
|---|---|
| |
| British Ambassador to Yemen | |
| In office February 2018 – August 2021 | |
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Simon Shercliff |
| Succeeded by | Richard Oppenheim |
| British Ambassador to Sudan | |
| In office 2015–2018 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Peter Tibber |
| Succeeded by | Irfan Siddiq |
| British Ambassador to Libya | |
| In office 2013–2015 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Sir Dominic Asquith |
| Succeeded by | Peter Millett |
| British Ambassador to Iraq | |
| In office 2011–2012 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | John Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Simon Collis |
| British Ambassador to Kuwait | |
| In office 2008–2009 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Stuart Laing |
| Succeeded by | Frank Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Douglas Aron 22 March 1959 |
| Spouse | Rachel Barker (divorced) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Exeter School University of Leeds Polytechnic of Central London |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Career
Aron was educated at Exeter School, Leeds University and the Polytechnic of Central London. He taught English in Sudan before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1984. He has served at New York, Brasília and Brussels. He was Ambassador to Kuwait 2008–09, Head of the Middle East Department at the FCO 2010–11, Ambassador to Iraq 2011–12, acting Head of Mission at Tripoli September 2012 to January 2013, and Ambassador to Libya from January 2013[1][2] until June 2015.[3]
After the outbreak of the Libyan Civil War in 2014, Aron supervised the evacuation of British citizens from Tripoli on the Royal Navy survey ship HMS Enterprise. He and his remaining staff then closed the embassy and left Libya to set up a temporary office in Tunis.[4]
In April 2015, Aron was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan, and took up the appointment in August of that year.[5] In February 2018 he was transferred at short notice to be Ambassador to Yemen.[6]
After completing his time as Ambassador to Yemen, Aron returned to the FCDO, London in July 2021 and retired from the Diplomatic Service in October 2022.
Since October 2022, Aron has been Chief International Affairs Officer of the Yemeni family-owned conglomerate HSA Group.
Family
Aron was married to Rachel (née Barker) who was also a diplomat, now retired after being British Ambassador to Belgium from 2007 to 2010. They have two sons and two daughters.[7] They divorced in 2016.
Aron remarried in 2018 to Kate Orrick, who is currently Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, Stockholm. They have one son and one daughter together.
