On Wednesday, the British government announced the appointment of Martin Longden as its new Ambassador to Libya, replacing Caroline Hurndall.
According to a press release on the government’s website, Longden will assume his new role in Libya in October of this year. Hurndall will move on to another diplomatic mission.
Longden, born in Stockport, served as Head of the Rapid Deployment Team in the Afghan capital, Kabul, between 2021 and 2022. He also worked as Chargé d’Affaires at the British Mission to Afghanistan, based in Doha.
In 2021, Longden held the position of British Chargé d’Affaires in Beirut. During the period from 2016 to 2020, he served as Head of the Near East Department, Middle East, and North Africa Directorate, and later as the UK Special Representative to Syria.
Between 2015 and 2016, Longden worked as Deputy Head of the British Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. Additionally, from 2011 to 2014, he served as the Director of the Falkland Islands and South Atlantic Department within the Overseas Territories Directorate of the Foreign Office.
In December 2021, the Libyan Parliament voted in favour of designating Hurndall, “persona non grata” in the country.
The Spokesman for the Parliament, Abdullah Blaiheg said “The Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be notified to take the necessary measures and notify the concerned authorities.”
Notably, a number of Libyan journalists, politicians and activists called for the expelling of Hurndall
This comes in response to the statement of the British Embassy, in which it said that it will continue to recognize the Government of National Unity (GNU), headed by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. It noted that it does not endorse the establishment of parallel governments or institutions.
They considered the embassy’s statement as a violation of Libyan sovereignty, interference in its internal affairs, and obstruction of the country’s political roadmap. Especially after the British government announced its continued recognition of the unity government as a mandated authority.
On the day the vote should have taken place, the UK in Libya Twitter account published a message saying it continued to recognise the interim government of national unity “as the authority tasked with leading Libya to elections and does not endorse the establishment of parallel governments or institutions.”
In response, the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee accused Hurndall of violating diplomatic norms, and unwarranted interference. The committee said only the Parliament – which has been accused of seeking to delay and even disrupt any elections – could decide on the role of the interim government. Some tribes went further, calling for Hurndall to be expelled.