Local heroes of diplomatic corps honoured

Embassy Network

Embassy staff representing almost a thousand years of service were recognised at the Embassy Long Service Awards 2026

Local staff – from chefs to chauffeurs, cleaners to consular officers, office managers to public diplomacy officers – were celebrated at this year’s Embassy Long Service awards, which took place at the Royal Garden Hotel.

The Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps Alistair Harrison joined a capacity crowd of ambassadors and diplomats to pay tribute to colleagues who had served their missions with distinction for a total of 934 years.

Taking home the overall Embassy Long Service Officer of the Year trophy for 2026 was the Long Service Officer for Oceania, John Mantripp, Supplier Relationship Manager at the New Zealand High Commission, who has served at the High Commission for an astounding 40 years.

Unsung heroes
Welcoming guests to the ceremony, Embassy Group Director Elizabeth Stewart praised the dedication of all the nominees for this year’s awards: “Diplomats come and go, but these dedicated local staff, who together have served their missions for almost a 1000 years, are the unsung heroes of our diplomatic community; they are the institutional memory without whom embassies could not function. Tonight we salute them.”

The winner was selected in a vote involving the diplomatic community as well as a judging panel comprising officials from the FCDO, Marshal’s Office and UKVI Embassy Team and DVLA Diplomatic and Consular Team.

Accepting his award, this year’s winner John Mantripp paid tribute to the work of his fellow locally-employed colleagues:

“Every three years or so, the seconded Captain of our mission or agency ships changes, but it is us, the Civilian Staff, who are the engine rooms and these awards are recognition for ALL civilians and the work we ALL do!”

Known as the High Commission’s IT guru, John has steered the High Commission through immense technological change. When he started work in 1986, a fresh-faced 30-year-old called Bill Gates took Microsoft public on the NASDAQ with an initial offering price of $21 per share. The computer mouse was a novelty and Windows 1.0 had just launched.

Joining John on stage at the ceremony were his fellow Regional Long Service Winners, who were also honoured:

  • Long Service Officer for Africa, Maria Florenca, who has been a cleaner at the South African High Commission for 21 years
  • Long Service Officer for The Americas, Cristián Santa Maria Mozo, Administration Manager at the Embassy of Chile who has served his mission for 43 years.
  • Long Service Office for Asia, Indarty Noor, Protocol and Consular Adviser at the Embassy of Indonesia for more than 41 years.
  • Long Service Officer for The Caribbean, Elieath ‘Veron’ Gillespie-Thorpe, senior clerk at the Jamaican High Commission for 29 years
  • Long Service Officer for Europe, Nerissa Sultana, Head of Public Diplomacy at the Malta High Commission for the past 21 years
  • Long Service Office for the Middle East, Hala Wahby, Secretary and Accounts Officer at the Embassy of Jordan for 32 years

Nominees and regional finalists from 22 missions were also given certificates of commendation for their service.