Nic Hailey CMG

Biography

Nic Hailey was Director General, Transformation from June 2020 to September 2021. Nic led the work to bring together the former Department for International Development (DFID) and the former Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) into the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

From January to June 2020, Nic led the FCO work to repatriate British nationals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Prior to that, Nic was the British High Commissioner to Kenya from December 2015 to August 2019, and before that he was Director, Africa at the FCO. In that role he had responsibility for all UK policy towards, and operations in, 48 countries across Africa.

Nic joined the FCO in 1997. He has held various roles in the Foreign Office:

  • Deputy Ambassador in Kabul
  • Counsellor, Political, Economics and Communication Group in Washington
  • Head of Strategy, Communication and Training Department, FCO Consular Directorate
  • speech writer to the Foreign Secretary
  • Private Secretary to Her Majesty’s Ambassador in Paris, followed by Berlin
  • secondment to École nationale d’adminstration, Paris
  • Desk Officer, European Union Directorate