Matt Cannell became the Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director at the British High Commission, Dhaka in March 2023. He joined the High Commission in Dhaka as the Development Director in March 2022.

Immediately prior to this, he was Portfolio Director, Transformation, leading work to create the FCDO following the merger of Department for International Development (DfID) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Matt has spent more than half his career overseas with both the FCO and DfID, covering a wide-range of development and foreign policy roles. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan. He served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2014; and from 2006 to 2010 he represented the UK on the governing boards of UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP and UN Women at the UK’s Mission to the United Nations .

Matt is married and has two young children.