Kanbar Hossein-Bor has been appointed as the UK's high commissioner to Fiji, becoming the first refugee to achieve the rank. The 44-year-old fled Iran as a child in 1987 without speaking English and now takes up the post in a ceremony that included a customary audience with King Charles.
Hossein-Bor recalled his mother's initial fears two decades ago when he applied to work in the Foreign Office. 'In her mind this was a bastion of the establishment, she was a little worried of rejection,' he said. This week, the fear that 'he might not be British enough' was proved wrong.
Born into a prominent Balochi family, Hossein-Bor was six when he was driven across the Pakistan border to a refugee camp before settling in suburban Southampton. A teacher's kindness on a school trip to France, where he and his twin sister were separated due to their 'blue UN travel documents', was formative, as was being cast as Winston Churchill in a school play.
After winning an assisted place to grammar school, Hossein-Bor studied law at Warwick and Cambridge, practised as a barrister, and joined the Foreign Office as a legal adviser. He served in Iraq during the 2007 US 'surge' and speaks Balochi, Arabic and Farsi.
Hossein-Bor sees the role as a chance to challenge stereotypes. 'I am worried there is a depiction of refugees and asylum seekers as people who come here and just take, take, take and don't give enough back,' he said. 'For me, Britain's given me all these opportunities and my career is a sense of me giving back.'
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are proud to be a diplomatic service where individuals of all backgrounds can rise on merit and realise the opportunity to serve the UK. Kanbar's story, as well as many others, embodies that.'
