Sarah MacIntosh

Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG (born 7 August 1969) is a British diplomat currently appointed British High Commissioner to Australia and Head of the United Kingdom’s Oceania Network from April 2025.^[1] She previously served as the Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs from 2022 to 2024 and prior to that as High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Ambassador to Liberia and British Ambassador to NATO from 2017 to 2022.

Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG
High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office April 2025
Monarch	Charles III
Prime Minister	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Victoria Treadell
Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs
In office 2022–2024
Monarchs	Elizabeth II Charles III
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Sir David Quarrey (Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Adviser on International Affairs)
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to NATO
In office 2017–2022
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Theresa May Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Paul Johnston (acting)
Succeeded by	David Quarrey
British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone British Ambassador to Liberia
In office 2006–2008
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	John Mitchiner
Succeeded by	Ian Hughes
Personal details
Born	(1969-08-07) 7 August 1969 (age 56)

Biography

MacIntosh joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1991 and served at the UK missions to the UN in New York and Vienna, and in the British embassy in Madrid. She was strategy coordinator for the UN mission in Kosovo 2004–05, and High Commissioner to Sierra Leone (and non-resident Ambassador to Liberia) 2006–08. She then took a fellowship at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University 2008–09. She was Director, Strategic Finance at the FCO 2009–11, Director, Defence and International Security 2011–14, and Director General, Defence and Intelligence 2014–16.^[2] In November 2016 the FCO announced that she had been appointed Permanent Representative to the United Kingdom's Delegation to NATO.^[3] She took up the post in February 2017.^[4]

Already Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to British foreign policy.^[5][6]