Richard Stagg

His Excellency Sir Richard Stagg KCMG
File:Richardstagg.jpg
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office 2012–2015
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir William Patey
Succeeded by	Karen Pierce
High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to India
In office 2007–2011
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir Michael Arthur
Succeeded by	Sir James Bevan
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-27) 27 September 1955
Nationality	British
Children	5 (3 sons, 2 daughters)
Education	Winchester College
Alma mater	Oriel College, Oxford
Occupation	Diplomat

Sir Richard Stagg KCMG (born 27 September 1955) is a retired British diplomat who was ambassador to Bulgaria, high commissioner to India and ambassador to Afghanistan.

Education

Stagg was educated at Winchester College and Oriel College, Oxford where he read history.

Career

On joining the British Foreign Office, Stagg worked in the Department responsible for Hong Kong – on his second day the Hong Kong Police mutinied, adding to the challenge of managing Britain’s last major overseas territory.

He then spent three years in Bulgaria, and a further three years in the Netherlands at a time when the country was in uproar over the planned deployment of US missiles.

Stagg was then seconded to the Secretariat of the European Council to help establish a new organisation designed to coordinate more effectively the foreign policy of the members of the European Union. He returned to London to work on policy towards the Soviet Union in the three years leading up to its collapse and the liberation of Eastern Europe – the goal of British policy for the previous four decades.

After two years as British Press Spokesman in Brussels during the Maastricht negotiations (which led to a landmark treaty paving the way for the Euro), he became a Private Secretary to the British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd.

From 1996–1998 Stagg was head of the Foreign Office Department responsible for the Enlargement of the EU – negotiations with 10 candidate countries were started in early 1998 under the UK’s Presidency of the EU.

Sir Richard was appointed British Ambassador to Bulgaria in 1998 and served there for three years during the war over the future of Kosovo.

Between 2001 and 2007 Stagg was responsible for the Foreign Office’s global consular, visa and information work; and for the global estate, IT and HR. He was a member of the Foreign Office's management board from 2002 to 2007.

Stagg was British High Commissioner to India from 2007 to 2011, and Ambassador to Afghanistan from April 2012 until he retired in early 2015.

Personal life

Sir Richard is married with five children aged [in mid-2014] between 14 and 27 (3 boys and 2 girls).

External links

• Afghanistan should be left 'to get on with things' – British ambassador, The Guardian, London, 2 October 2012

References

 This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v2.0: British Ambassador to Afghanistan: Sir Richard Stagg at the Wayback Machine (archived 19 August 2014)

• STAGG, Sir (Charles) Richard (Vernon), Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011, accessed 26 Oct 2012

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Roger Short	Ambassador to Bulgaria 1998–2001	Succeeded by Ian Soutar
Preceded by Sir Michael Arthur	High Commissioner to India 2007–2011	Succeeded by Sir James Bevan
Preceded by Sir William Patey	Ambassador to Afghanistan 2012–2015	Succeeded by Karen Pierce