THE United Kingdom has identified a successor to outgoing Ambassador to Guyana, Andrew Ayre, who will take up his diplomatic posting in Guyana next month.

Confirmation came yesterday, when Ayre announced that Mr. James Gregory Quinn has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Mr. Quinn joined the British Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1995 and is currently Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Kazakhstan.
His FCO career has included work at the United Nations, the Former Soviet Union, and the Middle East, in addition to a two-year secondment to the United States Department of State where he worked on Iraq.
On his appointment as British High Commissioner to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Mr. Quinn has said: I am delighted to be appointed as the British High Commissioner to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It is a privilege and honour to be given the opportunity to work with this fellow Commonwealth member to further both our bilateral relationship and cooperation on a range of important issues of mutual concern.
The career diplomat, between 2009 and 2012, served as FCO, Head of UN Political Teams International Organisations Department. Prior to that posting Quinn served in Washington/US State Department as the Iraq/Middle East Liaison Officer.
Quinn has also served in posts in Accra, where he was a Political, Press & Public Affairs Officer, among other postings.
Ayre has been British High Commissioner to Guyana since September 2011. High Commissioner Ayre joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986. He previously served as the Head of the EU Budget and European Councils Team at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and his previous postings include Warsaw, Tel Aviv and Vienna. He is married to Bettina Ayre, with one son, Tobias Ayre.
The High Commissioner is the UK government’s representative in a Commonwealth nation. They are responsible for the direction and work of the High Commission and its Deputy High Commissions and/or Consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services.