Mr Edward Chaplin CMG, OBE is Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Italian Republic and San Marino.  Mr Chaplin took up his appointment on 19 October 2006.

Edward Chaplin joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1973 after graduating from the University of Cambridge. Early postings included Muscat and Brussels, and a year at the École Nationale d'Administration in Paris.

Returning to London in 1979, he was appointed Private Secretary to Lord Soames, who had joined Mrs Thatcher's first government as Lord President of the Council, Leader of the House of Lords and Minister for the Civil Service, with additional responsibilities for foreign and European affairs. He was therefore part of Lord Soames' staff when the latter was appointed Governor of Rhodesia, in December 1979, to implement the Lancaster House agreements and bring the country to independence as Zimbabwe in 1980.

Mr Chaplin returned to the Near East and North African Department of the FCO in 1981, as desk officer for Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Territories, before being appointed to Tehran in 1985 as Head of the Political Section.

Back in London in 1987, Mr Chaplin spent two years in the FCO's Personnel Department and then two years on secondment to Price Waterhouse Management Consultants in the City of London. In 1992, he was appointed Deputy Permanent Representative at the UK Mission to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva.

Mr Chaplin returned to London in 1996 as Head of the FCO's Middle East Department, at a time dominated by the international community's dealings with Iraq and Iran. He was appointed Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 2000, and then recalled in 2002 to serve as the FCO's Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2004, after the demise of Saddam Hussein's regime, Mr Chaplin was appointed British Ambassador to Iraq, re-establishing the Embassy after a 13-year break in relations between the two countries.

Immediately before coming to Italy, Mr Chaplin spent 8 months on sabbatical as a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of International Studies in Cambridge.

Mr Chaplin is married to Nicola, a teacher. Their three children are at present pursuing their education at universities in the UK: Stephanie, Tom and Juliet.

A gallery of photographs of Mr Chaplin is available in our photo library.