Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Charles King as its new ambassador to Somalia to replace Michael Nithavrianakis in May.
King was the joint head of the UK’s Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) Gaza taskforce from 2023 to 2024 and previously led the FCDO’s Levant and North Africa Department and was the UK’s special representative for Syria.
He has also worked for the FCO in Libya, France, Turkiye, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Romania and Bulgaria in various capacities.
King joined the FCO in 2004.
He will replace Nithavrianakis who was appointed the UK’s ambassador to Somalia in May 2023.
British ambassadors “are responsible for the direction and work of the embassy and its consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services”, according to the FCO.
