Paul Johnston
Johnston in Stockholm on 6 September 2011
British Ambassador to Ireland
Assumed office
September 2020
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byRobin Barnett
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to NATO
Acting
2016–2017
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byAdam Thomson
Succeeded byDame Sarah MacIntosh
British Ambassador to Sweden
In office
August 2011 – August 2015
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byAndrew Jonathan Mitchell
Succeeded byDavid Cairns
Personal details
Born (1968-05-29) 29 May 1968
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow

Paul Johnston (born 29 May 1968) is a British diplomat, and the British Ambassador to Ireland since September 2020.

Early life

Paul Charles Johnston was born on 29 May 1968 to Charles Johnston and Muriel Johnston (née Hall).[1]

Charles Johnston worked for Woolworth's. Muriel Johnston worked for a trade union and is active in the Galashiels Opera.[2]

Johnston was educated at St Margaret's Primary School and then the Galashiels Academy in Galashiels, Scotland. At Galashiels Johnston studied French, German, and Spanish and described the efforts of his languages teacher as a possible inspiration for joining the Foreign Office.[2] Johnston then attended the University of Glasgow, graduating with an MA (Hons) in Political Science and Government.[1]

In his youth, Johnston participated in performances of The King and I and Carousel for the Galashiels Opera.[2]

Career

Paul Johnston joined the Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence until 1993.[1]

In 1993, Johnston joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as the Desk Officer for Bosnia until 1995.[1]

Johnston served as the Private Secretary to the British Ambassador to France from 1995 to 1999.[1] This was Johnston's first foreign posting.[3]

Johnston described negotiating on behalf of the European Union on the language on the responsibility to protect, adopted by the UN World Summit in 2005, as a personal highlight of his career.[4]

Johnston was appointed the British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015.[3]

Johnston was the British Permanent Representative to NATO from 2016 to 2017.[3]

He served as the British Ambassador to the European Union's Political and Security Committee from 2017 to January 2020.[3]

Ambassador to Ireland

Johnston was appointed the British Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.[5]

In December 2020, Johnston published an open letter describing the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement as a "good deal for the UK and the EU, and in particular for the UK and Ireland".[6]

On 5 March 2021, the Irish Times published a letter from Johnston, setting out the rationale for the decision of the British government to unilaterally extend the grace period for post-Brexit checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.[7]

In March 2021, Johnston revealed that Ireland is "high up" on the list of countries to receive surplus COVID-19 vaccines once British vaccination targets are met.[8]

Personal life

Johnston married Nicola Carol Maskell in 2004.[1] Johnston walks recreationally.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Johnston, Paul Charles". Who's Who. 1 December 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U2000284. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Janiak, Kevin (7 July 2020). "Paul brings skills learned in Galashiels opera to his latest foreign office role". The Southern Reporter. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Paul Johnston - GOV.UK". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Johnston, Paul (25 February 2014). "British Ambassador to Sweden's speech on upcoming British IHRA Chairmanship". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Ireland: September 2020". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Johnston, Paul (31 December 2020). "UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: open letter from Ambassador Johnston to business in Ireland". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Johnston, Paul (5 March 2021). "British ambassador on the NI protocol". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Edwards, Rodney (28 March 2021). "British Ambassador reveals that Ireland is 'high up' on the list for surplus Covid vaccines from UK". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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