Hugh Elliott, the former British Ambassador to Spain, has been appointed as Executive Chairman of Iberdrola Energía Internacional, the division overseeing the company’s assets in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Japan.
Elliott, who served as Ambassador to Spain and non-resident Ambassador to Andorra from 2019 until September 2024, was actively involved in post-Brexit negotiations concerning Gibraltar.
Taking up his new post in January, he will lead Iberdrola Energía Internacional, managing over €10 billion in assets, including significant offshore wind projects in France and Germany.
Elliott’s diplomatic career began in 1989 with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) where his roles have included postings in Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Paris, as well as serving as Head of the Amsterdam Treaty Unit and Director of Communication.
Between 2006 and 2013, he was Head of Government Relations at Anglo American, a mining company. He returned to the FCO in 2013, holding positions such as Director for Europe and Director of International Agreements.
In 2018, he became Director of Communications and Stakeholders at the Department for Exiting the European Union.
During his ambassadorship, Elliott was a Trustee of the British Spanish Society and Chairman of Canning House, an Anglo-Hispanic centre. In 2020, he was appointed Patron of The Royal British Legion in Spain and the British Benevolent Fund.
In April 2023, it was reported that Elliott was involved in an inquiry concerning then Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab’s conduct towards officials.
The inquiry upheld a complaint about an incident where Raab’s behaviour was deemed “unreasonably and persistently aggressive” and “undermining and humiliating.”
It was reported that Raab had recalled Elliott from Spain in November 2020 after concerns that Elliott had exceeded the Cabinet’s mandate in negotiations with the Spanish government over the presence of Spanish officers in Gibraltar.
Although he remained ambassador, Elliott was then replaced in the negotiations by his predecessor, Simon Manley.
In March 2024, Alex Ellis was announced as Elliott’s successor as British Ambassador to Spain.
