Christopher Meyer

==Diplomatic career==
Meyer began his career in the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] in 1966 in the West and Central African Department as desk officer for French-speaking African countries.<ref name = Murphy/> Following a year's training in the Russian language, his first posting, at the age of 24, was as third secretary to the British embassy in Moscow in 1968, where for his first year he was the ambassador's private secretary. From 1970 to 1973 he was second secretary at the British embassy in Madrid. This was followed by five years in London: firstly, as the head of the Soviet section in the East European and Soviet Department, and, secondly, as speech-writer to Foreign Secretaries [[James Callaghan]], [[Anthony Crosland]] and [[David Owen]]. Meyer was then sent from 1978 to 1982 to the UK permanent representation to the European Communities in Brussels, followed by two years as political counsellor in the British embassy in Moscow.<ref name = MacAskill/> 

He returned to London in 1984 to become [[press secretary]] to the Foreign Secretary, Sir [[Geoffrey Howe]], a position which he occupied until 1988, when he went for a year to Harvard University's Centre for International Affairs as a visiting fellow.<ref name = Murphy/> This was followed by five years at the British embassy in Washington, D.C., as minister-commercial and deputy head of mission. He returned to London in 1994 to become Prime Minister [[John Major]]'s press secretary and government spokesman.<ref name = Murphy/> He was posted briefly to Germany as [[British Ambassador to Germany|ambassador]] in 1997, but was transferred in the same year to Washington as Britain's ambassador to the United States.<ref name = Wintour>{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/29/sir-christopher-meyer-former-uk-ambassador-to-us-dies-at-78|title = Sir Christopher Meyer, former UK ambassador to US, dies at 78|newspaper = [[The Guardian]]|date = 29 July 2022|accessdate = 29 July 2022|last = Wintour|first = Patrick|authorlink = Patrick Wintour}}</ref>

===HM Ambassador to the United States===
[[File:Christopher Meyer 011030-D-9880W-017.jpg|thumb|Ambassador Christopher Meyer meeting with [[Donald H. Rumsfeld]] on 30 October 2001]]
His final posting was as [[List of British Ambassadors to the United States|British Ambassador to the United States]] from 1997 until his retirement in 2003. He underwent emergency heart surgery just before the [[invasion of Iraq]] in March 2003.<ref name = Telegraph>{{cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/07/28/sir-christopher-meyer-diplomat-who-served-ambassador-washington/|title = Sir Christopher Meyer, diplomat who served as Ambassador to Washington in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq – obituary|newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date = 28 July 2022|accessdate = 29 July 2022|url-access = subscription}}</ref> Meyer [[List of witnesses of the Iraq Inquiry#26 November|gave evidence]] about his time in the role to the [[Iraq Inquiry]] in November 2009.<ref name="BBC Iraq">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8380139.stm|title=Blair's view on Iraq 'tightened' after Bush meeting|date=26 November 2009|publisher=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=27 January 2010}}</ref>