Alex Trelinski
THE UK has appointed a new Ambassador to Spain- Alex Ellis- who will take up his post this summer.
Ellis, 56, will replace Hugh Elliott in Madrid after holding the position since August 2019.
Elliott has been Ambassador during a very busy time which saw the UK leave the EU and he’s had to deal with the multiple consequences for British expats in the country.
He last year succeeded in getting an extension to UK driving licence swaps after a long period of negotiations.
Ambassadors normally change every five years, so Elliott’s departure is no surprise.
He took over from Simon Manley who had nearly six years in the role.
The UK government has not specified Elliott’s next job, except to say that he was ‘transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment’.
Alex Ellis has been the British High Commissioner in New Delhi since 2021, and before that he was a National Security Advisor to the Cabinet Office and Director General for the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Previous roles included being the Ambassador to Portugal and Brazil.
It won’t be his first posting in Madrid, as he spent two years there between 2003 and 2005 as a Counsellor at the British Embassy on EU and Global Issues before becoming an adviser to the President of the European Commission.
Ellis is married and has a son.
