Mr Robin Ord-Smith MVO has been appointed the British High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga, as Britain reopens its diplomatic mission in Nuku’alofa,13 years after departing in 2006.

He is expected to take up his appointment in mid 2019 and become the resident High Commissioner to Tonga. The current non-resident High Commissioner, Ms Melanie Hopkins remains as the High Commissioner to Fiji, confirmed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on May 28.

Mr Ord-Smith comes to Tonga with wide diplomatic experience since starting in the Foreign Service in 1989.

He is currently Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, a post he held since 2015. The Ambassador represents HM Queen Elizabeth II and the UK government, and is responsible for the direction and work of the Embassy and its Consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services.

He was Ambassador to Dushanbe, Tajikistan (2012-14) and Director UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2011.

From 2007-10, Mr Ord-Smith was the Assistant Private Secretary to the Duke of York, after working as Director of Trade Promotion in Tokyo (2006-07), among other previous  trade-related postings. He has served in a number of other diplomatic roles at home and overseas, including in Algeria, Romania, Malaysia, Germany, and Japan.

Mr Ord-Smith (53) is married to Sezim Beksultanova. He has three sons.

The British closed down its High Commission in Nuku’alofa in 2006.