UK Foreign Office Board gets first Indian-origin member

Kumar Iyer has been appointed by the UK government as theChief Economist of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), making him thefirst Indian-origin member of the department’s management board.

Iyer, who was born in London and spent his early years inIndia, has previously been based in Mumbai as Britain’s Deputy HighCommissioner.

   

In this new role as the Chief Economist, which commences inJuly, he will lead the FCO’s Economics Unit which provides in-house economicanalysis input into foreign policy formulation, and also develops economicscapability within the FCO through the Economics and Prosperity Faculty of theDiplomatic Academy.

“He brings insight of global economics andinternational finance, and experience of working on economic diplomacy andprosperity abroad,” said Sir Simon McDonald, UK Permanent Under-Secretaryat the Foreign Office, in reference to the appointment announced on Thursday.

 “Kumar will alsobecome our first BAME [black and minority ethnic] FCO Board Member, marking asignificant step in ensuring diversity across the FCO, particularly within theFCO’s leadership,” McDonald said.

After a few childhood years in India, Iyer moved back to theUK aged 11 to be based in Stoke-on-Trent in central England. The FCO noted thathe grew up speaking Hindi and Tamil, which came to be useful when he was postedto India as Deputy High Commissioner and Director General for Economics, Tradeand Commercial Affairs in South Asia in 2013.

“The role is a real privilege and marries my love ofeconomics with my interest in global diplomacy,” Iyer said, in referenceto his new role. 

“I think living abroad during my early childhood gaveme a sense of the world as a bigger place and I developed an interest ininternational issues that has always stayed with me,” he said.

“Growing up in Stoke-on-Trent I never thought I wouldget an opportunity to do something like this but I’m thrilled to be re-joiningthe Foreign Office at such an important time,” Iyer said.

Iyer taught international finance and macroeconomics atHarvard University, where he was a Kennedy Scholar, and went on to conduct hispost-graduate studies at Cambridge University and is currently a VisitingAcademic at Oxford University.

After leaving academia for consultancy, Kumar joined the UKPrime Minister’s Strategy Unit as Deputy Director at the height of the globalfinancial crisis during Gordon Brown’s tenure as PM between 2007 and 2010. Hethen moved to the UK Treasury department, where his team was responsible foroverall strategy and coordinated the Budget, before joining the FCO.

Iyer has always split his career between the private andpublic sectors, holding senior positions in both arenas. Since 2017, he hasbeen working part-time as a Visiting Academic at Hertford College, Oxford, aswell as being a Partner in the Financial Services Practice at leading globalmanagement consultancy, Oliver Wyman.      

In his previous role as the British Deputy High Commissionerbased in Mumbai, Iyer had the responsibility for Western India and was also theDirector General for Economic, Trade and Investment with overall responsibilityfor the UK-India trade relationship.

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