Jon Benjamin (diplomat)

Jon Benjamin

Jon Benjamin (born 19 January 1963) is a British diplomat who is High Commissioner to Ghana.

Background and education

Jon Benjamin was brought up in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, attending Slough Grammar School. He read German and Swedish at the University of Surrey.^[1]

Diplomatic career

• 1986: Desk Officer for Pakistan
• 1986–1987: Desk Officer for Burma and Laos, South East Asian Department
• 1988–1991: Jakarta, Third, later Second Secretary (Political)
• 1992–1993: Head of Section for Central Asia and the Caucasus, Eastern Department
• 1993–1995: Chief-of-staff to Minister of State responsible for EU/Europe and Latin America
• 1996–1999: Ankara, First Secretary, Head of Political and Public Affairs Section
• 2000: Head of Zimbabwe Emergency Unit
• 2000–2002: Deputy Head, Drugs and International Crime Department
• 2002–2005: Head of Human Rights Policy Department
• 2005: Washington, D.C., Counsellor (Counter-terrorism and Human Rights)
• 2005–2008: New York, Deputy Consul General & Deputy Head of Mission,subsequently Acting Consul General
• 2008–2009: New York, Secondment to Eurasia Group (political risk consultancy), Adviser to the president^[2]
• 2009–2014: Ambassador to Chile^[3]
• 2014: High Commissioner to Ghana^[4]

References

• BENJAMIN, Jonathan, (Jon), Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013
• Jon Benjamin, gov.uk

1. Britain's Chile ambassador: The FCO's not Arabist, The Jewish Chronicle Online, 26 November 2009
2. Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Chile, British Embassy Buenos Aires, 17 June 2009 (via archive.org)
3. Ambassador's farewell reception in Chile, British Embassy Santiago, 23 January 2014
4. Change of High Commissioner to Ghana, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 16 January 2014