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A new British consul general has arrived in Atlanta, fresh off of an ambassadorial posting in Europe where she promoted the United Kingdom’s vision for collective security and prosperity.
Up until last month, Rachel Galloway spent four years as envoy to North Macedonia, whose accession as the 30th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization occurred near the midpoint of her tenure in 2020.
The country of nearly 2 million people had recently settled a long-running dispute over its name, adding the “North” to avoid confusion with the eponymous northern region of Greece.
As recently as mid-June, Ms. Galloway was in Skopje, the North Macedonian capital, welcoming British delegates to the Prespa Forum, a high-level dialogue hosted by the Western Balkan country.
She replaces former Consul General Andrew Staunton, the self-proclaimed sports fanatic who adopted Atlanta teams during his four-year tenure representing Her Majesty in the Southeast U.S. Around the midpoint, at the end of January 2020, Brexit became final as the U.K. officially left the European Union. His latter two years in Atlanta coincided with the pandemic.
Before his departure, the gregarious Scotsman known for his sense of humor hosted a celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee at the British residence in Buckhead, a gathering where he said farewell to many in the community. He advocated strongly for deeper connections between the South and the U.K. on sports, technology and global health.
For her part, Ms. Galloway has more than 20 years of diplomatic experience, having started her career with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 2000.
Before taking up her previous post in 2018, Ms. Galloway spent three years chairing the Maghreb working group at the European External Action Service, the diplomatic arm of the European Union.
According to a bio posted on gov.uk, she has also held roles as the U.K. Permanent Representation to Brussels (2012-15), deputy head of the FCO’s International Organisations Department (2008-11) and head of the Darfur section of the Sudan unit in the FCO’s international development department (2007-08).
She spent a brief stint on a provincial reconstruction team in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2006, that same year serving on the counter-terrorism review team in Her Majesty’s Treasury.
Her only prior posting in the U.S. was a four-year assignment in Washington as second secretary in the political section at the British Embassy from 2002-06.
Ms. Galloway is married with two children. She tweets at @RGallowayUK. Follow the British Consulate’s Twitter profile at @UKinAtlanta.
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