Leigh Turner

This page is about writer and former British ambassador Leigh Turner.  You can read about my latest books by clicking here. Since 2022, I have been proud to be represented by Caradoc King and his assistant Becky Percival at United Agents.

Recent history – and Ukraine

This website focuses on my writing. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, I have written several “explainers” and other posts on the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

My book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy – Wie Diplomatie die Welt erklärt, published by Czernin Verlag in German in spring 2023, contains much about Russia and Ukraine, amongst other things. It will be published in English by Bristol University Press in September 2024 under the title Lessons in Diplomacy – Politics, Power and Parties.

Earlier history

Who is Leigh Turner?  Well, I was conceived in Nigeria and spent the first three years of my life there.  I’m the one on the left, my brother Stephen is holding the pram upright.

Growing up

I lived in Exeter, in the south-west of England, from ages 3-6 (my father was teaching at the university there) and in Roma, Lesotho (ditto), from ages 6-12.

Here I’m the one with bare feet. In the middle Bernard and Reginald Tekateka, on the right Stephen. Bernard (second left) tragically died in a car crash in 1978. Reginald was later the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Bonn.
This pic shows us playing Monopoly, a key activity in those days.

For a glimpse of why Lesotho is special, see my post Ten reasons to like Lesotho, including numerous pictures (links in bold italics are to other posts on this site).

In 1969-70 I went to Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland.  I am grinning in this picture (standing next to Stephen) because I am wearing one of my first ever pairs of long trousers.  I still have this tie; the yellow dot on a blue background is a phoenix rising.

In 1970 my mum and dad moved to Manchester, where he was Professor at the University and she did a PhD and became a teacher of partially hearing children. I studied at Manchester Grammar School. In 1975 my bedroom looked like this. How many signs of international activity can you spot? I like this picture because it shows anyone can become a diplomat or ambassador.

In 1976 I went to Cambridge University and in 1979 started work.  The following picture, taken in West Virginia in 1982, bears no resemblance to me today.  Read more about my travels in the U.S., in Russia, or in my Leigh Turner Biography pages. My Wikipedia page is here.

My blog

I began this writing blog in 2014 and have sought to fill it with material of interest.  If you like it, please subscribe for occasional updates (see foot of page).

My books

Most of my books are non-fiction (see below). But in April 2023 Czernin Verlag, Vienna, published my book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy – Wie Diplomatie die Welt verändert”. Written in English and translated into German, it explores whether a diplomat’s life really is as glamorous as a royal visit, or as dramatic as a coup d’état in Turkey. An English-language version of the book is due to be published under the title “Lessons in Diplomacy” in September 2024.

My Istanbul thriller PALLADIUM was published by US publisher Immortal Works in 2022. Click on the picture below to learn more.

My Berlin thriller BLOOD SUMMIT, was published in 2017. It has had good reviews, including from John Connolly and Edmund de Waal and is my biggest-selling thriller so far.

My black comedy feminist collection Seven Hotel Stories stars Ms N, the world’s most brilliant, unpredictable and deadly hotel manager and her beautiful but naive ally, Tatiana.

My satirical thriller ETERNAL LIFE explores our obsession with longevity and how it might change the world.

All these books are available on Amazon – or you can order them at good bookshops.

My diplomatic career

From 1979 to 2021 I worked as a British diplomat and civil servant.  My jobs were as follows:

1979-83: jobs in the Departments of the Environment and Transport, and HM Treasury, in London

1983-87: transfer to the Foreign Office and first posting as Second Secretary (Political, Press and Public Affairs) in the British Embassy in Vienna, Austria

1987-91: jobs in London dealing with European Community budgetary and monetary affairs; and with counter-terrorism

1991-95: Russian language training and posting to the British Embassy in Moscow as First Secretary (Economic)

1995-98: work in London on the transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997

1998-2002: posted to the British Embassy in Bonn, then Berlin, as Counsellor (EU and Economic)

2002-2006: four year career break to look after the children in Berlin. I also did travel writing for the Financial Times, and wrote novels

2006-8: Director (Overseas Territories) in London

2008-12: British Ambassador to Ukraine

2012-16: Consul-General and Director General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, South Caucasus and Central Asia in Istanbul. I returned to London for a month in 2014 as joint head of the Foreign Office Crisis Unit during the Russian occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

With Deep Purple in Vienna, 2017

2016-21: British Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna

My book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy, published in German in spring 2023, discusses what everyone can learn from diplomacy. It will be published in English by Bristol University Press in 2024 under the title Lessons in Diplomacy: Politics, Power and Parties. I hope it will become required reading for diplomats and everyone interested in diplomacy – or life in general.

Leigh Turner: more info

You can read more about me, including my taste in music, in my post Sixty Seconds with Leigh Turner.

Listen to this one-hour interview with me on “Free Radio Innsbruck” (in English, with a few words of German), focused on Blood Summit, including four readings, in October 2019.

If you want to see what I get up to, please subscribe to this blog (scroll down this page to where it says “subscribe to my updates”) and follow me on social media, eg Facebook.