webfact Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Press releaseChange of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to ThailandMr Brian Davidson is to succeed Mr Mark Kent as Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of ThailandMr Brian Davidson has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand in succession to Mr Mark Kent, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Davidson will take up his appointment during September 2016.Curriculum VitaeFull name Brian John DavidsonMarried to Mr Scott Kelly Chang2011 – 2015 Shanghai, Consul General2006 – 2010 Guangzhou, Consul General2005 – 2006 International Financial Services London, Deputy Chief Executive2001 – 2004 Vilnius, Deputy Head of Mission2001 Language training (Lithuanian)2001 FCO, Hajj Pilgrimage committee reviewer, Consular Directorate1996 – 2000 Canberra, First Secretary1994 – 1996 FCO, Head of China Section1992 – 1994 Cabinet Office, Desk Officer, Assessments Staff1988 – 1992 Beijing, Second Secretary1986 – 1988 Language training (Mandarin Chinese)1985 – 1986 FCO, Desk Officer Czechoslovakia/Bulgaria, East European Department1985 Joined FCOSource: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-her-majestys-ambassador-to-thailand-- GOV.UK 2015-09-08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalansanitwong Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) The new UK Ambassador to Thailand is married to ...........Mr Chang ? He's going to love it here! Edited September 8, 2015 by jalansanitwong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatproblem Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy50 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 As much as I despise the British Embassy, and dread ever having to go there, it is enlightened and progressive that a gay married man has been chosen as the next ambassador. Good luck to him and his lovely wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalansanitwong Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) As much as I despise the British Embassy, and dread ever having to go there, it is enlightened and progressive that a gay married man has been chosen as the next ambassador. Good luck to him and his lovely wife. Lovely wife? How would you know this .Youve met them? Youre simply expressing the opinion of the minority and by the way gays have partners not wives. Men have wives. Please dont twist things to suit your agenda. Getting back to the real issue of the embassy. I think alot of Brits lost it for their embassy when it turned its back on a Briton who was cuffed to a cell bar and left to starve. He was a human skeleton by the time someone texted a pic of him to the media.The embassy had no choice but to get him out. Edited September 8, 2015 by jalansanitwong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assurancetourix Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 The new UK Ambassador to Thailand is married to ...........Mr Chang ? He's going to love it him here! In September 2014 Davidson married his American boyfriend Scott Chang in a ceremony officiated by British Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood at the Ambassador's residence in Beijing, causing a stir in China, where same-sex marriage is not permitted. Davidson, who was married under English law which has permitted same-sex marriage since March 2014, commented: "Obviously Scott and I are very happy to have this opportunity to marry under British law. We are very proud that the UK is one of the few countries in the world to make this happen." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Davidson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prbkk Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Well, thank God things have progressed since the dark days when gays were considered a security risk and the likes of Alan Turing were hounded to an early grave. Good luck to him and his partner ( lovely or otherwise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loaded Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British I completely agree. As each year goes by, they make life more difficult being a Brit abroad. Closing the consulate in Chiang Mai and requiring Brits in Chiang Mai to visit Bangkok to apply for a new passport are a couple of examples of them helping us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx22cb Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Welcome, your Excellency. What I want to know is, at which college did he matriculate, and what did he read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NongKhaiKid Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Will Kent teach him to wai in the most obsequious manner and always say nice things ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewsterbudgen Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British My good man, he's a representative of the British government and it's all about diplomacy. I think you may have misunderstood the role of an Ambassador Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirgoSG Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Welcome, your Excellency. What I want to know is, at which college did he matriculate, and what did he read? He graduated in law from Trinity College, Cambridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Davidson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assurancetourix Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 " Mr Davidson will take up his appointment during September 2016. " Sept 2016 ? Next year ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjackson Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Interesting to note he has extensive ties to the British - Chinese diplomatic mission. A transfer to Thailand at a time the Thai Government are strengthening their ties to China. A very strategic and progressive move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soalbundy Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British My good man, he's a representative of the British government and it's all about diplomacy. I think you may have misunderstood the role of an Ambassador If you need help / advice go to any other EU countries embassy they are far more helpful, i use the German embassy they are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guru Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 So is Mark Kent staying in Thailand for his new diplomatic appointment or moving abroad? Thought he spent years learning Thai language and culture specifically for a placement here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy50 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Will Kent teach him to wai in the most obsequious manner and always say nice things ? Agreed. There is nothing worse than an obsequious wai from someone who represents the crown. Enough to send shivers down the spine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Let's hope he can Sort out the mess when you try to renew your British passport. You can only pay for the Renual with a British credit/debit card Not cash, money order or foreign visa card. For a lot of Expats with no Bank account in the UK its a really stupid rule. But this is of no concern to him. We are only the people he has been sent to look after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLang Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 in succession to Mr Mark Kent, That was quick. He underwent quite a lot of training (language and otherwise) before being taken on as a long-term ambassador. The previous guy (Pakistani name) took over for a year as a temp while Mark was trained up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiturkey Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Let's hope he can Sort out the mess when you try to renew your British passport. You can only pay for the Renual with a British credit/debit card Not cash, money order or foreign visa card. For a lot of Expats with no Bank account in the UK its a really stupid rule. But this is of no concern to him. We are only the people he has been sent to look after. SINCE WHEN have you been able to renew the latest Passports at an embassy? I had to apply direct to the UK earlier this year, but they did accept my local (Malaysian) debit card. Took about 6 weeks which caused me to overstay. The only thing the Embassy could offer was a Temporary Travel Document, only good for one return journey, and similar price to a Passport. Not much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Let's hope this guy has more pizazz than the singularly unimpressive and unfortunately misnomered "Mark Kent" - who certainly wasn't superman's big brother.... maybe the release of the British academic has something to do with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Let's hope he can Sort out the mess when you try to renew your British passport. You can only pay for the Renual with a British credit/debit card Not cash, money order or foreign visa card. For a lot of Expats with no Bank account in the UK its a really stupid rule. But this is of no concern to him. We are only the people he has been sent to look after. SINCE WHEN have you been able to renew the latest Passports at an embassy? I had to apply direct to the UK earlier this year, but they did accept my local (Malaysian) debit card. Took about 6 weeks which caused me to overstay. The only thing the Embassy could offer was a Temporary Travel Document, only good for one return journey, and similar price to a Passport. Not much help. The form for passport Renual whilst in Thailand says submit to Embassy in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billd766 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Welcome, your Excellency. What I want to know is, at which college did he matriculate, and what did he read? I suppose that if you were really interested you would have done some research. However Google and Wikipedia are your friends. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Davidson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertson468 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British I completely agree. As each year goes by, they make life more difficult being a Brit abroad. Closing the consulate in Chiang Mai and requiring Brits in Chiang Mai to visit Bangkok to apply for a new passport are a couple of examples of them helping us. Loaded? Obviously not loaded full of intelligence! The policy for Embassies is passed down from the Foreign Office. It is not up to each Embassy to establish their own policy, so stop making uneducated comments and point your barbs in the right direction - The British Government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expattaff1308 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Let's hope he can Sort out the mess when you try to renew your British passport. You can only pay for the Renual with a British credit/debit card Not cash, money order or foreign visa card. For a lot of Expats with no Bank account in the UK its a really stupid rule. But this is of no concern to him. We are only the people he has been sent to look after. SINCE WHEN have you been able to renew the latest Passports at an embassy? I had to apply direct to the UK earlier this year, but they did accept my local (Malaysian) debit card. Took about 6 weeks which caused me to overstay. The only thing the Embassy could offer was a Temporary Travel Document, only good for one return journey, and similar price to a Passport. Not much help. The form for passport Renual whilst in Thailand says submit to Embassy in Bangkok. You do not apply at or pick up from the British Embassy. Everything you need to know should be here: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBrilliant Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Welcome, your Excellency. What I want to know is, at which college did he matriculate, and what did he read? I suppose that if you were really interested you would have done some research. However Google and Wikipedia are your friends. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Davidson And he studied at SOAS too so can't be all bad.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Ubon Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 As much as I despise the British Embassy, and dread ever having to go there, it is enlightened and progressive that a gay married man has been chosen as the next ambassador. Good luck to him and his lovely wife. Lovely wife? How would you know this .Youve met them? Youre simply expressing the opinion of the minority and by the way gays have partners not wives. Men have wives. Please dont twist things to suit your agenda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Ubon Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Jalansanitwong, are you suggesting that gay men are not real men? If so, that is bigoted and highly offensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I got really excited with this news for a split second as i thought it said they had appointed Jim Davidson as ambassador, and i thought finally the PC, bearded, anorak wearing Liberal lefties had all been kicked out of goverment departments and was really looking forward to the odd joke from the new ambassador..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loaded Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why have an embassy here ,they aren't any good for the expats here,save the money ,sorry I forgot it isn't for the British I completely agree. As each year goes by, they make life more difficult being a Brit abroad. Closing the consulate in Chiang Mai and requiring Brits in Chiang Mai to visit Bangkok to apply for a new passport are a couple of examples of them helping us. Loaded? Obviously not loaded full of intelligence! The policy for Embassies is passed down from the Foreign Office. It is not up to each Embassy to establish their own policy, so stop making uneducated comments and point your barbs in the right direction - The British Government. So you are saying embassies are not part of the foreign office? You are saying the decision to close the consulate in Chiang Mai was made without the recommendation of the embassy in Bangkok? I don't believe that. I wish I was as educated as you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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