Richard Ralph

Ralph was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, and Edinburgh University. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1969 and served at Vientiane, Lisbon, Harare and Washington, D.C., as well as at the FCO. He was ambassador to Latvia 1993–95, governor of the Falkland Islands (and commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) 1996–99, ambassador to Romania and concurrently to Moldova 1999–2002, and ambassador to Peru 2003–06.

While Ralph was ambassador to Romania, the government sold its national steel firm, Sidex, to a company owned by Lakshmi Mittal, a major donor to the British Labour party which was then in power under Tony Blair as prime minister. Ralph was said to have a mistress who was employed by a legal firm which worked on the steel deal,[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385028/Our-man-with-the-lover-half-his-age.html Our man with the lover half his age], The Telegraph, 16 February 2002 and he had previously worked alongside Jonathan Powell, who later became Blair's chief of staff, at the British Embassy in Washington. However, Ralph was defended by the foreign secretary, Jack Straw.[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/feb/22/labour.uk Straw backs ambassador over steel deal], The Guardian, London, 22 February 2002

Ralph left the diplomatic service in 2006 and became executive chairman of Monterrico Metals plc, a publicly listed company with a copper mine at Rio Blacos in Peru.{{cite web |url=http://www.monterrico.co.uk/s/PressReleases.asp?ReportID=147212&_Type=Press-Releases&_Title=Former-British-Ambassador-to-Peru-Appointed-as-Executive-Chairman |title=Former British Ambassador to Peru Appointed as Executive Chairman |accessdate=2015-02-09 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006163632/http://www.monterrico.co.uk/s/PressReleases.asp?ReportID=147212&_Type=Press-Releases&_Title=Former-British-Ambassador-to-Peru-Appointed-as-Executive-Chairman |archivedate=6 October 2006 }}, Monterrico Metals plc, 14 August 2006 In 2008 he was fined for insider trading associated with Monterrico Metals.[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/nov/13/fsa-insider-dealing Former British ambassador fined £118,000 for insider trading], The Guardian, London, 13 November 2008

• [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U31814 RALPH, Richard Peter], Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

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{{s-ttl |title=Ambassador to Latvia |years=1993–1995}}

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{{s-ttl |title=Governor of the Falkland Islands |years=1996–1999}}

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{{s-ttl |title=Ambassador to Romania and Moldova |years=2000–2002}}

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{{s-ttl |title=Ambassador to Peru |years=2003–2006}}

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Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at The King's School, Canterbury

Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Category:Governors of the Falkland Islands

Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Latvia

Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Moldova

Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Romania

Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru

Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George

Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order