Irfan Siddiq was born and raised in London and entered the United Kingdom’s Diplomatic Service in 1998 after graduating with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.
He has worked in the Foreign Office in London on NATO issues, as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary and as Head of the Arab Partnership Department, leading the UK’s response to the Arab Spring. He has had diplomatic postings to New Delhi, Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus. He has held positions as Ambassador to Azerbaijan (2013-2016) and Ambassador to Sudan (2018-2021). He has also spent time outside the FCO on secondments to the US State Department in Washington and to Plan International, an NGO working on children’s rights. He assumed his role as High Commissioner to Cyprus in August 2022.
Mr Siddiq is married and has two young daughters.