Stephen Hickey (diplomat)

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Stephen Benedict Hickey CMG is a British diplomat who served as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Iraq from September 2019 to July 2021. He comes from Bromley, England; his father is Edward (Eddie) Hickey. He earned a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. Hickey has worked as a diplomat in several Arab countries, including Egypt, Libya and Syria, where he was deputy ambassador from 2010 to 2011 and was evacuated during the Syrian civil war. He became the British ambassador to Iraq in September 2019. In July 2020, he received death threats from the Iraqi group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba after he said Iraq was being held back by armed groups outside state control. He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to British foreign policy. He is married to Laura Madelaine Hickey, and they have three sons. He speaks fluent Arabic.