Sir Thomas Drew | |
|---|---|
 Sir Thomas Drew | |
| British Ambassador to France | |
| Assumed office August 2025 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| Prime Minister | Sir Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Dame Menna Rawlings |
| Director-General Defence and Intelligence, FCDO | |
| In office February 2020 – December 2023 | |
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Sir Philip Barton |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Allen |
| British High Commissioner to Pakistan | |
| In office February 2016 – November 2019 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Sir Philip Barton |
| Succeeded by | Christian Turner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Drew (1970-09-26)26 September 1970 (age 55) |
| Spouse(s) | Joanna Roper (m. 2016) styled Lady Drew (since 2024) |
| Education | Charterhouse |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
| Awards |  KCMG (2024) |
Sir Thomas DrewKCMG (born 26 September 1970), is a British diplomat who has been serving as theBritish Ambassador to France from August 2025, succeedingDame Menna Rawlings.[1]
PreviouslyDirector-General, Defence and Intelligence at theForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2020–23), before that Drew wasBritish High Commissioner to Pakistan (from February 2016 to November 2019).[2]
Born atHaslemere in 1970 to Peter John Drew[3] and Rosemary Jane Beverleynée Sach, he was educated atCharterhouse inSurrey, before going up to read Classics atTrinity College, Oxford, where he graduatedBA (with First-Class Honours).[4] He was elected an honorary fellow of Trinity in 2025.[5]
Drew started his career atMcKinsey & Company, themanagement consultants, before joiningHer Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1995. After serving in London and a period of full-timeRussian languagetraining, he was posted to theBritish Embassy, Moscow in 1998 asSecond thenFirst Secretary heading the Embassy's economic team.[6] In 2002, Drew returned to theFCO in London to head the EU Intergovernmental Conference Unit, the team negotiating what became theTreaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Once theconference concluded in 2004, Drew continued in London heading the EU Enlargement and South East Europe Group until 2006, when he was posted as thePolitical Counsellor to theBritish High Commission inIslamabad.
In 2008, Drew was seconded to theHome Office as Director of theOffice for Security and Counter-Terrorism. He returned to theForeign Office in 2011 asNational Security Director. He was then appointedPrincipal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary in 2012, serving bothWilliam Hague andPhilip Hammond.[6]
In 2015 Drew returned toMcKinsey & Company on secondment, asVisiting Fellow at theMcKinsey Global Institute.[7] In theQueen's Birthday Honours in 2015 he was appointedCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) "for services to British foreign policy interests".[8]
From February 2016 to November 2019, Drew served asBritish High Commissioner to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.[9] He returned to London as Director-General, Consular and Security at theFCO, becoming Director-General, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan upon the merger of theFCO andDepartment for International Development in September 2020. From 2022 until 2023, he served as Director-General, Defence and Intelligence, where his responsibilities included leading the FCDO's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[10]
Drew served as a Trustee of theBritish Council from 2020 until 2024.[11]
He was promotedKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the2024 New Year Honours "for services to British foreign policy and national security".[12]
AppointedBritish Ambassador to the French Republic in succession toDame Menna Rawlings, Sir Tom took up residence at theHôtel de Charost,Paris, in August 2025.[13]
In 2016, Drew marriedJoanna Roper, also acareer diplomat, formerBritish Ambassador to the Netherlands.[14]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary 2012–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | British High Commissioner to Pakistan 2016–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | British Ambassador to France 2025-present | Succeeded by Incumbent |