MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

First line diplomat and arms control expert next UK ambassador in Argentina

Dr. Freeman joined the FCO in 1986

The UK Foreign Office informed on Friday that John Freeman has been appointed new Ambassador to Argentina to replace outgoing Ambassador Shan Morgan, who has held the post since 2008.

Ambassador Freeman said that he was looking to bring back a more positive relationship between the two nations. “I will work hard to contribute to the development of a relationship of mutual benefit to the United Kingdom and Argentina,” he said.

Dr John Freeman is also to take up the role as Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay. His predecessor in Buenos Aires, Ms Shan Morgan is to transfer to another Diplomatic Service appointment.

On learning of his new appointment, Freeman stated that he is “honoured and delighted to be posted to Buenos Aires as Ambassador. I am much looking forward to taking up my appointment and grateful for the opportunity to get to know the important and wonderfully varied country that is Argentina today.”

Dr. John Freeman joined the Foreign Office Service in 1986 and has since served in a wide range of appointments in London and overseas dealing with countries as varied as South Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Singapore, and with a wide range of international issues, including non-proliferation, international terrorism, and drugs policy. He has also covered economic and commercial issues in Posts overseas.

More specifically Dr Freeman worked as Deputy Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. He also served as UK Ambassador for Multilateral Arms Control and Disarmament and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as UK Ambassador to the UN in Vienna, and as UK Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO. Earlier in his career he also held appointments in the UK Ministry of Defense, according to King’s College, London.

Further on KCL states that Dr Freeman has held Visiting and Associate Fellowships at the Centre of International Relations at Cambridge University and is associated with the Centre for Conflict and Security Law at Utrecht University.

He has published a number of books and articles on arms control, most recently contributing a Chapter on the experience of implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention to Blechman and A Bollfrass (eds) ”Elements of a Nuclear Disarmament Treaty: Unblocking the Road to Zero, Washington, 2010”. In his research interests figures the evolution of arms control and disarmament, especially in the multilateral context.