 He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1980 and after language training at SOAS and in Hong Kong served in Beijing, Brussels and Shanghai.He was British ambassador to Switzerland and non-resident ambassador to Liechtenstein 2004–08, the Prime Minister's International Representative on Energy Issues in 2008, UK director for the 2010 Shanghai Expo (where the UK pavilion won the award for best pavilion design) and was British High Commissioner to Malaysia from October 2010 until ill health forced him to retire in May 2014.While in Malaysia, he was also one of the patrons of the British Theatre Playhouse, a theatrical and musical production company which works with British entertainment shows.