New UK ambassador to Oman arrives in country

Muscat: Bill Murray, the new ambassador of the United Kingdom to Oman, has arrived in the country to take up his posting.

Murray, who is expected to assume his appointment this month, will replace Hamish Cowell, who will be transferring to another diplomatic posting, according to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

A military veteran, Murray served in the UK’s Royal Marines from 1993 to 2002. He has an extensive history of diplomatic posting in the Arab world. He was most recently the counsellor at the British embassy in Abu Dhabi, a role he held previously in Tunis.

He was at the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) from 2013 to 2016, where he headed the Libya and Syria teams, before serving as a counsellor in Sana’a and Jerusalem between 2010 and 2013. From 2009 to 2010, he was first secretary in Amman.

He held a similar role at the British embassy in Nairobi, where he was appointed as the first secretary covering Somalia. He has also had two postings concerning Iraq: the first was as second secretary in Baghdad, while the second was an FCO appointment as head of the team concerning Erbil.