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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 UK in Turkey

29th November 2012

A proud moment

A guest blog by Nicole Sauvage Utku, British Vice-Consul, Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey

This month Robert Murray Jamieson became a British Citizen.

Standing proudly in front of the Union Jack he swore allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and was handed his certificate by HM Consul General, Leigh Turner.

Robert was born in Australia in 1968 to a British mother, herself born in London in 1935.  Many would therefore assume that Robert would have been British by birth, but the nationality laws in place at the time meant children born overseas could not acquire British nationality from their mothers.

Subsequent changes to the law meant that Robert was finally able to apply for the British Citizenship that some might think should have been his from birth.  The significant registration fee has also been removed.  Robert now has the option to live in the UK, further his academic studies and be of support to his ageing uncle there.

We celebrated in true British style with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

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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