Oliver Christian
Biography
Oliver Christian is His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan, and His Majesty’s Consul General to Dubai. He was appointed to the role in September 2023.
Oliver was previously Head of the Prime Minister’s Business Unit in Downing Street, serving four Prime Ministers from 2019 to 2023. Oliver was responsible for maintaining a trusted link between the Prime Minister, Whitehall and the boardrooms of UK and international businesses and investors. He oversaw over £78 billion of investment and export deals, establishing the UK Global Investment Summit and the creation of the Office of Investment during his tenure.
Prior to that he helped establish the Department for International Trade (now the Department for Business and Trade), as the Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State and President of the Board of Trade in 2016. Oliver has 13 years’ experience in Government having worked in trade, investment, business, regulation and security across several Departments and represented the UK in its missions overseas.
Oliver has a degree from Keele University in International Relations and Philosophy and studied abroad at the University of Toronto.
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British Consul General to Dubai
The Consul General is the senior UK official at the British Embassy in Dubai, and leads the government’s work promoting UK economic, commercial, political and consular interests in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan
HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan cooperates closely with the wider diplomatic network and other colleagues to coordinate the government effort overseas to promote UK trade and prosperity.
The Trade Commissioner has full responsibility for all Department for Business and Trade (DBT) work in the region including:
- growing the overall bilateral trade and investment relationship
- improving market access for British companies, including small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
- developing finance and trade policy
- UK Export Finance