Chris Sainty

His Excellency Chris Sainty
British Ambassador to Portugal
In office 1 October 2018 – December 2023
Monarchs	Elizabeth II Charles III
Prime Minister	Theresa May Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Kirsty Hayes
Succeeded by	Lisa Bandari
Personal details
Born	(1967-03-29) 29 March 1967 (age 57) London, England
Children	3
Parent	Sir John Sainty (father)
Education	Westminster School
Alma mater	New College, Oxford (BA)
Occupation	Diplomat

Christopher James Sainty (born 29 March 1967) is a British former diplomat and civil servant. He was British Ambassador to Portugal from 2018 to 2023.[1]

Early life and education

Sainty was born on 29 March 1967 in London, England, as the first son of Sir John Sainty and Lady Frances Sainty. He was educated at Westminster School, an all-boys public school attached to Westminster Abbey.[2] He studied mathematics and philosophy at New College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[1][2]

Career

Sainty entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1989, beginning his career as a diplomat.[2]

He was Deputy Head of Mission in The Hague from 2006 to 2008, and in Rome from August 2011 to August 2015.[1][2] From 2018 to 2023, he served as the British Ambassador to Portugal.[3][4]

On 25 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he won the appreciation of the Portuguese people with online videos of his playing on the piano the two songs that had been used on the radio by the revolutionaries to secretly signal the beginning of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, Paulo de Carvalho's E Depois do Adeus (Portugal's entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest) and Grândola, Vila Morena, a song by Zeca Afonso, a singer who was largely banned from Portuguese radio at the time. The Revolution overthrew the Estado Novo dictatorship. Sainty said that he decided to film himself playing these songs "for fun" and didn't expect the reaction he received, which was thousands of messages of thanks.[4][5][6]

Sainty left his ambassadorial post at the end of 2023. At the beginning of May 2024 it was announced that he was to become the Chief Executive Officer of the English-language newspaper, The Portugal News, with the aim of expanding the paper's coverage from the Algarve to Lisbon and Porto.[7]

Personal life

Sainty is married to Sarah. Together they have three children: two daughters and a son.[2]

References

1. "British Ambassador to Portugal Chris Sainty". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
2. "Sainty, Christopher James". Who's Who 2019. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U290402 (inactive 1 November 2024). Retrieved 2 February 2019.
3. "Chris Sainty is the new British Ambassador to Portugal". GOV.UK. British Embassy Lisbon. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
4. Madrid, Isambard Wilkinson (10 January 2024). "Coronavirus: British ambassador's piano strikes a chord in Portugal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
5. "O embaixador que comoveu Portugal na pandemia ao tocar a Grândola ao piano". Diário de Notícias. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
6. "A fond farewell from the piano playing diplomat". The Portugal News. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
7. "Former UK Ambassador to be new CEO of The Portugal News". The Portugal News. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Kirsty Hayes	British Ambassador to Portugal 2018–2023	Succeeded by Lisa Bandari