Richard Hyde
Biography
Richard is His Majesty’s Consul General in Chicago. As Consul General, he leads the UK’s engagement across the 14 states of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
As a career diplomat, Richard has served in a range of diplomatic and commercial positions around the world, including:
- 2019 to 2024: His Majesty’s Consul General in Houston with overall responsibility for leading the UK’s engagement in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico.
- 2015 to 2019: Director, Caribbean and Central America at the Department for International Trade, based in Caracas, Venezuela and later San Jose, Costa Rica
- 2013 to 2015: Head, Advanced Manufacturing Investment team at UK Trade and Investment in London, promoting Foreign Direct Investment into the UK
- 2011 to 2013: British Deputy High Commissioner (Consul General) Hyderabad, India. Richard also led work on restructuring the British Government network in India
- 2007 to 2011: British Deputy High Commissioner (Consul General) Bangalore, India
In earlier roles, Richard served as Deputy Ambassador in Yerevan, Armenia; Commercial Consul in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Vice Consul in Paris. He has held a range of foreign policy roles at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.
British Consul General in Chicago
The Consul General is the senior UK official in a Consulate General, which is a subordinate office to the Embassy or High Commission, usually located in another major city. The Consul General represents the UK government and is typically responsible for consular, visa and trade activities in their city or region.