Athens, Greece. Former British high commissioner in Cyprus Stephen Lillie has been named the United Kingdom’s ambassador in Athens. He will begin his duties in September.
Appointment
Lillie served in Nicosia between 2018 and 2022 and said he was “honoured” to take up the role. He replaces Matthew Lodge, who has been stationed in Athens since 2021.
Previous roles
After leaving Nicosia, Lillie served as the British foreign office’s director for defence and international security until last year, where he led work on what the British government described as “a broad ranger of areas”.
Background
The areas included Nato, European defence and security, global security partnerships, counter-proliferation and arms exports. Lillie had undertaken Greek language training before his posting in Cyprus.
Career history
He had previously been director of the British foreign office’s Asia pacific directorate and had also served as ambassador in Manila and consul-general in Guangzhou.