Sir Sebastian Wood KCMG

Biography

Sir Sebastian Wood served as Britain’s Ambassador to Germany from September 2015 to September 2020. Before his posting to Berlin, he served as British Ambassador to China from 2010 to 2015.

Sebastian joined the Diplomatic Service in 1983. After a posting to the British Embassy in Bangkok, he learned Mandarin at the beginning of the 90s before serving as a First Secretary in the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996 in the run-up to the handover of Hong Kong. He was Political Counsellor in Washington from 2001 to 2005 following US foreign policy in Asia. From 2005 to 2008 he was Asia-Pacific Director at the FCO (now Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) before undertaking a one year secondment to Rolls-Royce from 2008 to 2009.

Before joining the Diplomatic Service Sebastian studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford.