| Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell | |
|---|---|
| British Ambassador to the Holy See |
|
| In office December 2005 – January 2011 |
|
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Kathryn Colvin, CVO |
| Succeeded by | Nigel Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1970 Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Alma mater | Queens University Belfast |
| Website | Website of the British Embassy to the Holy See |
Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell (b. 20 April 1970, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland) was the UK's Ambassador to the Holy See from late 2005 to early 2011. He joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1997, aged 27.
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A native of Rathfriland, Campbell was born on a farm near the border and was the youngest of four boys. His mother, from Briarfield, County Galway, stayed at home while his father, from Rathfriland, was away for long stretches at a time working as a miner in Canada. For 17 years his father would return home for just a few weeks once every year or 18 months.
Campbell was educated at St Colman's College, Newry. After St Colman's he attended St Joseph's Seminary in Belfast, part of the philosophy faculty at Queens University Belfast and attended postgraduate studies at the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, where he considered the priesthood. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a Thouron Award Fellowship.
He was a lector at Westminster Cathedral, and, at one time, was an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
Campbell's early diplomatic career focused on Europe with postings to the European Enlargement Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and secondment to the European Commission, as part of its Delegation to the United Nations in New York.
From 1999-2003 he worked at 10 Downing Street, appointed first as Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister (1999–2001) and then Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (2001–2003).[1] From 2003-2005, he was First Secretary at the British Embassy in Rome and, subsequently, on sabbatical, Senior Policy Director with Amnesty International in London. He was Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2011.
Airing in February and March 2010, a 3-part documentary by BBC Northern Ireland called Our Man In The Vatican, focused on a year in the life of Ambassador Campbell. Contributors to the programme include Tony Blair, the Prime Minister during Campbell's role as Private Secretary.
Campbell has stated that he is both “British and Irish” and that he is not “going to exaggerate one identity at the expense of the other”.[2]