Stephen Austin Conlon has served as His Majesty's Ambassador to Turkmenistan since May 2023, leading the British Embassy in Ashgabat and its work across political relations, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and consular services. He prepared for the posting with a year of full-time Russian language training. A career diplomat, he joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1999 as Desk Officer in the Economic Policy Department. Much of his career has centred on European affairs and trade promotion: Desk Officer for EU Environment and Food Safety (2001–2003), Trade Attaché in Stockholm (2003), Director of UK Trade and Investment in Helsinki (2004–2008), and Deputy Head of Mission, Chargé d'Affaires and Her Majesty's Consul in Vilnius (2009–2014). He then spent eight years at the UK's Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels — first as Food Safety and Veterinary Attaché (2014–2017), then as Head of the European Parliament Team from 2017 through the UK Mission to the EU (2020–2022). He holds an MBA from The Open University.