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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of Stay Ahead of the Games UK in Ukraine

29th November 2011

London 2012: counting down with prizes

What could be better than meeting famous Ukrainian Olympians Serhiy Bubka and Valeriy Borzov?  With 242 days to go until London 2012, I was delighted to welcome them, plus six winners of our Online Olympic Quiz, to the embassy on 28 November.  I won’t say too much here because you can read all about it on our embassy website. But it was great to have the support of the legendary Ukrainian sportsmen as we presented the prizes; and to hear how much both the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the sports media present are looking forward to next year’s Olympics and Paralympics in London.

London 2012: 241 days and counting down…

London 2012 Olympics Quiz awarding ceremony

More pictures from the event here

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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