Nigel Haywood

Nigel Robert Haywood CVO (born 17 March 1955) is a British diplomat, who served as British ambassador to Estonia from 2003 until 2008 and Governor of the Falkland Islands from 2010 until 2014.

Early life

Haywood was born in Betchworth, Surrey, but moved to his mother's native Cornwall when he was nine, following the death of his father.

Educated at Truro School, Haywood studied English at New College, Oxford and then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before going back to Oxford to study linguistics, eventually becoming a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

Haywood, a Cornish language speaker, was named Bard of the Gorsedh Kernow in 1976.

Diplomatic career

After leaving Sandhurst, Haywood was a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Educational Corps before joining Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1983. He first worked in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with postings in the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Israel, and Lebanon. In 1992 he be became the Deputy Consul-General in Johannesburg and in 1996 he was appointed Deputy Head of the UK's Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna.