Ian Proud
Ian Proud was a member of the UK diplomatic service from 1999 to 2023. He was a senior officer at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to February 2019, at a time when UK-Russia relations were particularly tense. He performed a number of roles in Moscow, including as head of Chancery, Economic Counsellor - in charge of advising UK Ministers on economic sanctions - chair of the Crisis Committee, director of the Diplomatic Academy for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and vice chair of the Board at the Anglo-American School. He oversaw rebuilding the embassy staffing structures following the mass expulsion of staff that followed the March 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Prior to Moscow, in 2011 Proud organized the London Conference on Libya, attended by foreign ministers from 50 countries and the UN Secretary General. In 2010, he was posted to Helmand Province in Afghanistan, where he served as the Head of Strategic Communications. From 2003 – 2007 he was the Head of the Political Section at the British Embassy in Bangkok.
