Matt Baugh OBE was appointed British High Commissioner to Kenya in April 2026 following a career spanning senior security, diplomatic, and development roles across the UK Government, as well as significant experience of both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy.
Until December 2025, he served as Director for Migration and Conflict at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), leading UK policy on some of the most complex global displacement and peacebuilding challenges. Prior to this, he was Director for Euro Atlantic Security (2022–2024), overseeing NATO and OSCE policy and wider security issues across the Euro Atlantic region.
Between 2020 and 2022, Matt was Political and Security Director at the UK Mission to the European Union, where he also served as the UK’s Ambassador to the EU’s Political and Security Committee until the UK’s exit. Before this, he was Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) and previously held several senior FCDO positions, including Deputy Director for Africa (2013–2016) and the UK’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes.
From 2010 to 2013, Matt served as the British Ambassador to Somalia—the first such appointment in over two decades—playing a central role in the UK’s diplomatic re engagement during a pivotal period for Somalia’s political transition and international relations.
He is a graduate of the Higher Command and Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy (2010). Before joining FCDO, Matt worked for over a decade with the Department for International Development (DFID) in a wide range of leadership positions. These included Principal Private Secretary to the Development Secretary; Head of the Iraq Department; Head of the HMG Stabilisation Unit; DFID Representative in Khartoum; Head of the Afghanistan team; Head of Global Emergencies and Humanitarian Response; and Head of the Kosovo Unit. He began his government service at the Ministry of Defence.