Julian King (diplomat)


Sir Julian Beresford King is a British diplomat and civil servant who served as Ambassador to Ireland and France and Director General of the Northern Ireland Office. On 8 July 2016, he was nominated by David Cameron to succeed Jonathan Hill as the British European Commissioner. On 2 August 2016, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced his intention to allocate King the Security Union portfolio. After the approval of his nomination by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, he took office on 19 September 2016. With the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, he was the last British official to hold a position and portfolio within the European Commission.

Biography

King attended Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, one of the oldest schools in Britain. He gained a BA in Philosophy and Theology from St Peter's College, Oxford. He also studied at the École nationale d'administration in Paris where he met his future wife. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985.
After the resignation of Jonathan Hill as the British European Commissioner and European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron nominated King to replace him. On 2 August 2016, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced his intention to allocate the new portfolio of Security Union to King. King would work under the supervision of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The European Parliament confirmed his appointment on 15 September 2016, and the Council of the European Union did so on 19 September 2016.

Diplomatic career

King was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2006. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by Queen Elizabeth during a visit to Belfast on 24 June 2014, when he relinquished his appointment as Director-General of the Northern Ireland Office.

Personal life

He married a Danish colleague, Lotte Knudsen in 1992 near Gers in south-west France. They had met as students in Paris and still have a house near where they married. Lotte Knudsen is currently Managing Director, Human Rights, Global & Multilateral Issues in the European External Action Service and previously held senior posts in the European Commission, including as Director for Justice Matters in the Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security https://www.coleurope.eu/whoswho/person/lotte.knudsen