Timothy Torlot
Timothy Achille Torlot (born 17 September 1957) is a member of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service who is currently serving as British Ambassador to the Yemen. On 26 April 2010, Timothy Torlot survived a suicide bomber's attack,[1] responsibility for which was claimed by Al Quaeda's Yemen wing.[2]
Education
He attended Worcester College, Oxford and gained a BA (Hons) degree in modern languages.
Diplomatic career
Tim Torlot joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981. Following Arabic language training at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, he was posted as Third Secretary to Muscat in 1984 and to Wellington as Second Secretary in 1987.[3] Returning to the FCO in 1992, he served in Personnel Management Department until 1995 and in South East Asian Department until 1997. He was posted to Santiago from 1997 to 2001. He spent a year in the FCO's Counter Terrorism Department before being appointed Director, Advanced Technologies, UK Trade & Investment. From 2005 to 2006, he was Deputy Head of Mission in Baghdad. Two short assignments at the FCO followed before he was appointed Ambassador to Yemen in July 2007.[4]
Family
Timothy Torlot married Bridie Morton in 1986. They have one daughter (Eleanor, born 1990).
Controversy
A potential diplomatic incident arose in November 2009 when the Daily Mail reported that Mrs Torlot had left Sanaa early in 2008 after her husband's infidelity with an American journalist, Jennifer Steil, who worked for the Yemen Observer. The Torlots have since separated.[5] Because adultery in the Yemen is a crime punishable by death, Jennifer Steil then moved into the Ambassador's residence, where she and Tim Torlot are pictured together on Facebook.[6]
References
- ^ "UK envoy in Yemen escapes 'suicide bomb'". Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Yemen al Qaeda arm claims attack on UK ambassador". Reuters. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ The Diplomatic Service List 1989 (page 320), HMSO, ISBN 0 11 591707 1
- ^ "UK in Yemen: Our Ambassador". Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Our man in the Yemen, his pregnant mistress and the wife who has fled back to Britain". Daily Mail. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Jennifer Steil on Facebook".