{{Short description|British diplomat (born 1954)}} {{Use British English|date=November 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable | name = The Lord Darroch of Kew | honorific_suffix = KCMG | nickname = | image = Sir Kim Darroch.png | caption = Darroch in 2016 | office4 = Member of the House of Lords | status4 = Lord Temporal | term_label4 = Life peerage | term_start4 = 11 November 2019 | term_end4 = | office1 = British Ambassador to the United States | term_start1 = 28 January 2016 | term_end1 = 31 December 2019 | monarch1 = Elizabeth II | president1 = Barack Obama<br>Donald Trump | prime_minister1 = David Cameron<br />Theresa May<br />Boris Johnson | preceded1 = Peter Westmacott | succeeded1 = Dame Karen Pierce | office2 = United Kingdom National Security Advisor | prime_minister2 = David Cameron | term_start2 = 23 January 2012 | term_end2 = 7 September 2015 | preceded2 = Peter Ricketts | succeeded2 = Mark Lyall Grant | office3 = United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the European Union | term_start3 = July 2007 | term_end3 = 23 January 2012 | monarch3 = Elizabeth II | prime_minister3 = {{ubl|Gordon Brown|David Cameron}} | preceded3 = John Grant | succeeded3 = Jon Cunliffe | birth_name = Nigel Kim Darroch | birth_place = South Stanley, County Durham, England<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=%2B%2Fr5K0B4VYtnT%2FitKG7Eeg&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=30 January 2016|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1954|4|30}} | education = Abingdon School | spouse = {{marriage|Vanessa, Lady Darroch|1978}} | children = 2 | alma_mater = Hatfield College, Durham (BSc) }}
'''Nigel Kim Darroch, Baron Darroch of Kew''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCMG}} ({{IPAc-en|pron|ˈ|d|æ|r|ə|k|}}; born 30 April 1954) is a former British diplomat. He served as the British Ambassador to the United States between January 2016 and December 2019, and previously as National Security Adviser and UK Permanent Representative to the European Union.
On 10 July 2019, following the leak of diplomatic cables in which he had been critical of the Trump presidential administration, he resigned from his position as ambassador in Washington. Darroch concluded his post in December 2019 upon retirement from HM Diplomatic Service after a career spanning 40 years of public service.
==Early life== Nigel Kim Darroch was born in the village of South Stanley in County Durham, England, on 30 April 1954, to Alastair Macphee Darroch and Enid Darroch.<ref name="darroch1">{{cite book|title=Darroch, Sir (Nigel) Kim, (born 30 April 1954), HM Diplomatic Service|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/abstract/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-12851|website=Who's Who (UK)| doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U12851 | isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 |language=en|access-date=19 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="darrochnga">{{cite web |title=Speaker Bios |url=https://meetings.nga.org/files/live/sites/meetings/files/wm16/pdf/WM16SpeakerBios.pdf |website=National Governors Association |access-date=19 May 2019 |date=19 February 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was educated at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire and at Durham University (Hatfield College), from where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Zoology in 1975.<ref name=darroch1 /><ref>{{cite web|title=Gazette|url=http://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=bookreader/DU_Gazettes/DUGazette21_2/dg212METS.xml;query=kim%20darroch;brand=default#page/56/mode/2up|website=Durham University Archives|access-date=14 March 2018|language=en}}</ref> Darroch was an avid fives player in his youth, representing his school and later Durham University.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Fives |journal=Abingdonian |date=May 1972 |volume=15 |issue=8 |page=367 |url=https://www.abingdon.org.uk/abingdonian-archive/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2019/10/1972_May_V015_N008.pdf |access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=OA Notes |journal=Abingdonian |date=May 1973 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=71 |url=https://www.abingdon.org.uk/abingdonian-archive/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2019/10/1973_May_V016_N002.pdf |access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref>
== Career == [[File:P011515PS-0840 (20911942281).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Ambassador Peter Westmacott, Prime Minister David Cameron and National Security Advisor Darroch meet with President Barack Obama at the White House in January 2015.]]
Darroch joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1976.<ref name=darroch1 /> He was appointed to the Diplomatic Service in 1980 to serve as a First Secretary in Tokyo from 1980 to 1984.<ref name=darroch1 /><ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 48673 | date = 9 July 1981 | page = 2 }}</ref> He served in a number of posts, including as desk officer for the Channel Tunnel project and co-secretary of the UK-French Channel Tunnel Treaty Group, as private secretary to David Mellor and then The Lord Glenarthur as the FCO's Minister of State from 1987 to 1989, and as Counsellor for External Affairs at the British Permanent Representative to the European Union for a year before being promoted to Director as head of the FCO's press office in 1998.<ref name=darroch1 />
In 2000, Darroch moved back to policy work as Director of EU Comd,{{Clarify|reason=What is "Comd"?|date=July 2019}} and in 2003 promoted further to be Director-General, Europe. In 2004, he transferred to 10 Downing Street, as Head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat, where he served as the Prime Minister's principal advisor on European affairs. After three years, Darroch was appointed to replace John Grant in Brussels, as British Permanent Representative to the European Union in 2007 for a four-year term.<ref name=darroch1 />
On 24 June 2011, it was announced that Darroch would replace Peter Ricketts as National Security Advisor in January 2012, with Jon Cunliffe selected as Darroch's replacement as Permanent Representative to the European Union.<ref name=darroch1 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2011/06/senior-diplomatic-appointments-65056|title=Senior Diplomatic Appointments|date=24 June 2011|work=Number 10|access-date=25 June 2011}}</ref>
===Ambassador to the United States=== [[File:Secretary Pompeo Participates in a Working Lunch With UK Foreign Secretary Hunt (46138230304).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Ambassador Darroch and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (right) meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in January 2019.]]
On 7 July 2015, the Foreign Office announced that Darroch would be replaced by Mark Lyall Grant in September 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title = National Security Adviser appointment: Sir Mark Lyall-Grant – Press releases – Government of the United Kingdom|url = https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-security-adviser-appointment-sir-mark-lyall-grant|publisher = Government of the United Kingdom|access-date = 8 July 2015}}</ref> On 20 August 2015, the Foreign Office announced that Darroch's new role would be as the Ambassador to the United States, replacing Peter Westmacott on 28 January 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America – News stories – Government of the United Kingdom|url = https://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-her-majestys-ambassador-to-the-united-states-of-america|publisher = Government of the United Kingdom|access-date = 29 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Order of Precedence and Date of Presentation of Credentials|url=https://www.state.gov/s/cpr/29710.htm|publisher=United States Department of State|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202152144/https://www.state.gov/s/cpr/29710.htm|archive-date=2 February 2017|access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref>
In November 2016, following the US election, a memo by Darroch to Prime Minister Theresa May was leaked in which he said the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, could be influenced by the British government. The following week, Trump tweeted that Nigel Farage should serve as British ambassador to the United States. Downing Street said that there was no vacancy and that the UK had "an excellent ambassador to the US".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Michael |last2=Alexander |first2=Harriet |title=Donald Trump recommends Nigel Farage for British ambassador to the United States – but No10 tells him 'there's no vacancy' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/22/donald-trump-recommends-nigel-farage-british-ambassador-united/ |access-date=22 November 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London|date=22 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wintour|first1=Patrick|last2=Elgot|first2=Jessica|last3=Borger|first3=Julian|title=Ministers rejects Donald Trump's call to appoint Nigel Farage ambassador|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/22/boris-johnson-faces-mps-over-farage-trump-and-climate-change|access-date=22 November 2016|work=The Guardian|date=22 November 2016}}</ref> Darroch was in London the next day for consultations with May that were said to have been long-planned.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cowburn|first=Ashley|title=Theresa May meets with British ambassador to the US following Donald Trump remarks|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-meets-with-british-ambassador-following-donald-trump-remarks-a7432696.html |access-date=22 November 2016|work=The Independent|date=22 November 2016}}</ref>
====Cables leak and resignation==== On 7 July 2019, secret diplomatic cables from Darroch to the British government, dating from 2017 to 2019, were leaked to Steven Edginton, a 19-year-old freelance journalist and Brexit Party employee.<ref name="Guardian 21 July 2019">{{cite news |last1=Bowcott |first1=Owen |last2=Waterson |first2=Jim |title=Brexit party activist says he obtained Kim Darroch cables |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/21/brexit-party-steven-edginton-darroch-cables |access-date=21 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=21 July 2019}}</ref> (The most controversial item, however, according to Darroch's book, ''Collateral Damage'', was not a cable but a confidential letter sent directly to the National Security Advisor, Mark Sedwill) where Darroch assessed the Trump administration as "inept and insecure".<ref name=bbc-20190707>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48898231 |title=Trump administration is 'inept and insecure', says UK ambassador |publisher=BBC News |date=7 July 2019 |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> In response, Nigel Farage said Darroch was "totally unsuitable" for office,<ref name=cnn-20190707>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/uk-ambassador-cables-donald-trump/index.html |title=Cables from UK's ambassador to the US blast Trump as 'inept,' 'incompetent' |author1=Michelle Kosinski |author2=Schams Elwazer |author3=Stephen Collinson |publisher=CNN |date=7 July 2019 |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> and Trump tweeted that Darroch was "not liked or well thought of within the US" and that "we will no longer deal with him".<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump sharpens attack on UK ambassador Kim Darroch over emails |date=8 July 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48914294 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> The Prime Minister, Theresa May, expressed support for Darroch and ordered a leak inquiry.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |last2=Walker |first2=Peter |title=Theresa May has 'full faith' in Kim Darroch but rejects his view of Trump |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/08/pm-has-full-faith-in-kim-darroch-but-rejects-his-view-of-trump |access-date=10 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=8 July 2019}}</ref> It led to a criminal investigation into the leak by Scotland Yard.<ref name="Guardian 21 July 2019" />
On 10 July, Darroch resigned as Ambassador to the United States. He wrote that "the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like".<ref name="Guardian 10 July" /> Previously, Boris Johnson, the frontrunner in the election to replace May, had declined to publicly support Darroch. Consensus among political commentators in the UK was that this made Darroch's position untenable.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Wintour |first2=Patrick |last3=Syal |first3=Rajeev |last4=Siddiqui |first4=Sabrina |title=Boris Johnson blamed after Kim Darroch quits as UK ambassador to US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/10/kim-darroch-resigns-as-uk-ambassador-to-us-after-leaked-trump-comment |access-date=10 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=10 July 2019}}</ref> In the House of Commons, both May and the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, praised Darroch's service and deplored that he had to resign under pressure from the United States.<ref name="Guardian 10 July">{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |title=Kim Darroch resigns as UK ambassador to US after leaked Trump comment |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/10/kim-darroch-resigns-as-uk-ambassador-to-us-after-leaked-trump-comment |access-date=10 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=10 July 2019}}</ref> A spokesman for the Prime Minister said that it was an ambassador's job to provide "an honest and unvarnished view" of the US administration.<ref name="Guardian 10 July"/> Darroch remained in the post until the end of the year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Wintour |first2=Patrick |last3=Syal |first3=Rajeev |last4=Siddiqui |first4=and Sabrina |title=Johnson has thrown US ambassador under the bus, say top Tories |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/10/kim-darroch-resigns-as-uk-ambassador-to-us-after-leaked-trump-comment |access-date=11 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=10 July 2019}}</ref>
===Later career=== In 2020, Darroch wrote ''Collateral Damage: Britain, America and Europe in the Age of Trump''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arthey |first1=Vin |title=Book review: Collateral Damage by Kim Darroch |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-collateral-damage-kim-darroch-2991516 |access-date=2 November 2020 |work=The Scotsman |date=2 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rickets |first1=Peter |title=Kim Darroch and the art of the diplomat |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/collateral-damage-kim-darroch-review |access-date=2 November 2020 |work=New Statesman |date=16 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hastings |first1=Max |author-link1=Max Hastings |title=Collateral Damage by Kim Darroch, review — the British ambassador ousted by Trump |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/collateral-damage-britain-america-and-europe-in-the-age-of-trump-by-kim-darroch-review-kx6mzkgwl |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 November 2020 |work=The Sunday Times |date=13 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
On 19 September 2021, Darroch became Chairperson of non-partisan, internationalist campaign group, Best for Britain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/new-york-state-of-mind-what-scotland-thinks-spad-reshuffle/ |title=London Playbook: New York State of mind — What Scotland thinks — SpAd reshuffle |author=Annabelle Dickson |date=20 September 2021 |website=politico.eu |publisher=Politico |access-date=22 September 2021 |quote=NEW GIG: Former U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch has a new gig — he’s now chairperson of Best for Britain, the anti-Brexit campaigners now rebranding themselves as a “non-partisan” internationalist campaign group.}}</ref>
==Honours== Darroch was appointed a Companion of Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1997 New Year Honours,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54993 |date=30 December 1997 |page=3 |supp=3 }}</ref> and promoted to Knight Commander of the same order (KCMG) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=58729 |date=14 July 2008 |page=2 |supp=1 }}</ref>
He was nominated as a life peer in Theresa May's 2019 Resignation Honours List. He was created '''Baron Darroch of Kew''', of St Mawes in the County of Cornwall on 11 November 2019.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 62826 | date = 14 November 2019 | page = 20564 }}</ref> He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on 26 November 2020, with a speech on the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.<ref>{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom |house=House of Lords|date=November 26, 2020 |volume=808 |column=49|speaker=Lord Darroch of Kew|URL=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2020-11-26/debates/41879F1F-B661-495F-8EAB-451026E84E77/ComprehensiveEconomicPartnership(EUCReport)|title=Comprehensive Economic Partnership (EUC Report)}}</ref>
==Personal life== In 1978, Darroch married Vanessa, who was a teacher at the British International School of Washington while her husband was ambassador to the United States.<ref name="vanessa">{{cite web |title=Vanessa Darroch British International School Washington |url=https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/our-schools/washington/our-staff/meet-our-staff/academic-staff/vanessa-darroch |website=Nord Anglia Education |access-date=19 May 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714191857/https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/our-schools/washington/our-staff/meet-our-staff/academic-staff/vanessa-darroch |archive-date=14 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They have two children: Simon, a paleontologist based at Vanderbilt University who also studied at Durham, and Georgina, a botanist at Kew Gardens.<ref>{{cite web |title=Simon Darroch – Durham University |url=https://www.dunelmusa.org/nadevboard/simondarroch/ |website=Dunelm USA |access-date=19 May 2019 |archive-date=14 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714191858/https://www.dunelmusa.org/nadevboard/simondarroch/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=vanessa />
==See also== * List of Old Abingdonians * List of Durham University people * List of heads of missions of the United Kingdom
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=249271&NewsAreaID=2 UK Government press release announcing Darroch's appointment to UKREP]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{C-SPAN|108638}}
{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box | title = Director-General, Europe of the <br /> Foreign and Commonwealth Office | years = 2003–2004 | before = Unknown | after = Nicola Brewer }} {{succession box | title = Head of the <br /> Cabinet Office European Secretariat | years = 2004–2007 | before = Sir Stephen Wall | after = Jon Cunliffe }} {{s-dip}} {{succession box | title = UK Permanent Representative to the European Union | years = 2007–2011 | before = Sir John Grant | after = Sir Jon Cunliffe }} {{succession box | title = British Ambassador to the United States | years = 2016–2019 | before = Sir Peter Westmacott | after = Dame Karen Pierce }} {{s-gov}} {{succession box | before = Sir Peter Ricketts | title = National Security Advisor | years = 2012–2015 | after = Sir Mark Lyall Grant }} {{s-prec|uk}} {{s-bef|before=The Lord Carter of Haslemere}} {{s-ttl|title=Gentlemen'''<br />''Baron Darroch of Kew'' '''}} {{s-fol|after=The Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park}} {{s-end}} {{NSA}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darroch, Kim}} Category:1954 births Category:People from Stanley, County Durham Category:Living people Category:People educated at Abingdon School Category:Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Category:Crossbench life peers Category:Diplomatic peers Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to the European Union Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II Category:National Security Advisers (United Kingdom)