Nicholas Hopton

{{short description|British diplomat}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency

| name = Nicholas Hopton

| image = Nicholas Hopton 20161005 22.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1965|10|8}}

| education = St Peter's School, York

| alma_mater = Magdalene College, Cambridge

| office = British Ambassador to Libya

| term_start = 9 September 2019

| term_end = 1 September 2021

| primeminister = Boris Johnson

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| preceded = Martin Reynolds

| succeeded = Caroline Hurndall

| office1 = British Ambassador to Iran

| term_start1 = September 2016

| term_end1 = March 2018

| primeminister1 = Theresa May

| monarch1 = Elizabeth II

| preceded1 = Himself (as chargé d'affaires)

| succeeded1 = Robert Macaire

| office2 = British Ambassador to Qatar

| term_start2 = 2013

| term_end2 = 2015

| primeminister2 = David Cameron

| monarch2 = Elizabeth II

| preceded2 = Michael O'Neill

| succeeded2 = Ajay Sharma

| office3 = British Ambassador to Yemen

| term_start3 = 2012

| term_end3 = 2013

| primeminister3 = David Cameron

| monarch3 = Elizabeth II

| preceded3 = Jonathan Wilks

| succeeded3 = Jane Marriott

}}

Nicholas Dunster Hopton (born 8 October 1965) is a British diplomat who was the head of the UK embassy in Libya.{{Cite tweet|number=1172981193995968512|access-date=11 August 2021|date=14 September 2019|title=We are delighted to welcome our new Chargé d'affaires @NicholasHopton to @UKinLibya|user=UKinLibya|author=UK in Libya}}{{Cite web|last=Hopton|first=Nicholas|date=9 October 2019|title=A letter to all Libyans {{!}} Foreign Office Blogs|url=https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/nicholashopton/2019/10/09/a-letter-to-all-libyans/|access-date=23 June 2020|language=en-GB}}

Hopton was educated at St Peter's School, York and Magdalene College, Cambridge.2018 "Hopton, Nicholas Dunster, (born 8 Oct. 1965), HM Diplomatic Service; Ambassador to Iran, 2016–18." WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 19 Jul. 2019 He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989 and served in Paris, Rome and Rabat. He worked on the national security team at the Cabinet Office and was Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Europe.Biography of [https://www.gov.uk/government/people/nicholas-hopton Nicholas Hopton on gov.uk]. Retrieved 6 September 2016.

He assumed his first ambassadorial position as Ambassador to Yemen from 2012 to 2013, before serving as Ambassador to Qatar between 2013 and 2015. In December 2015 he was appointed British chargé d'affaires in Iran. Following the improvement in relations between the United Kingdom and Iran, Hopton was made Ambassador to Iran in September 2016 – the first British ambassador to the country since 2011.Biography of [https://www.gov.uk/government/people/nicholas-hopton Nicholas Hopton on gov.uk]. Retrieved 6 September 2016.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37278262|title=UK appoints first ambassador to Iran in five years|work=BBC News|date=5 September 2016|access-date=6 September 2016}} He was appointed chargé d'affaires at the British embassy in Libya in September 2019. He was succeeded by Caroline Hurndall in September 2021.{{cite press release |title=Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Libya: Caroline Hurndall MBE |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-her-majestys-ambassador-to-libya-caroline-hurndall-mbe |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=GOV.UK |date=5 August 2021}}

From 2013 to 2014 Hopton was a visiting academic at St Antony's College, Oxford.{{cite news |last=Sproule |first=Luke |date=5 September 2016 |title=Former Oxford academic Nicholas Hopton appointed first British ambassador to Iran since 2011|url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/14724289.Former_Oxford_academic_appointed_first_British_ambassador_to_Iran_since_2011/ |newspaper=Oxford Times |location=Oxford |accessdate=6 September 2016 }}