The United Kingdom (UK) has appointed Mark Smithson as the country director for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in Nigeria.
According to a statement on Thursday from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Smithson succeeds Chim Chalemera, who recently completed a three-year tenure in the role.
“Mark is an experienced civil servant with a diverse background in roles both within the UK and internationally,” the office stated.
“In this new position, he will oversee UK-Nigeria trade and investment relations, aiming to boost high-value inward investment and exports between the two countries, as well as support market access and trade policy priorities.”
Smithson expressed his excitement about the new role, highlighting Nigeria’s significance to the UK and the global community.
“Our historical, cultural, people-to-people, and business ties are deep and continuously expanding,” he said. “I am thrilled to take on this role as the DBT’s country director and look forward to building partnerships with the Nigerian government, the private sector, and the UK supply chain. Together, we can seize the opportunities offered by this unique partnership to create a more prosperous future for both our countries.”
Before his posting to Nigeria, Smithson was based in London from 2021 to 2024, where he led the DBT’s capital investment agenda. Initially, he covered European and US corporates and, from September 2022, served as the UK government’s global account manager for large institutional investors from Southeast Asia, focusing on Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Between 2007 and 2013, Smithson headed the consular section at the British Consulate General in Barcelona, Spain, managing high-profile consular cases and sporting events.
In 2013, he transferred to the US to lead consular services for Florida, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico at the British Consulate General in Miami. There, he oversaw an extensive outreach program with US government agencies and managed several crises, including serving as a rapid deployment team leader.
In 2017, Smithson moved to Atlanta, US, to lead the UK’s tech and creative trade and investment agenda in the Southeast region. A year later, he was transferred to Bangkok, Thailand, where he served until 2021, driving an increase in exports and investment and laying the groundwork for the UK-Thailand Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
Smithson is married to Patima, who is Thai, and they have a three-year-old child.
