David joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1972. He served in Warsaw, New Delhi, Paris and Moscow. From 1994 to 1995 he was Head of Policy Planning; from 1995 to 1998 Ambassador to Israel; and from 1998 to 2000 he was Deputy Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Intelligence and a member of the Foreign Office Board.

David served as the UK Permanent Representative at NATO from 2000 to 2001 before returning to London as Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat from 2001 to 2003.  He was then Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007.

David currently works as a Non-Executive Director of the BG Group and Lockheed Martin (UK). He is a nominated member of the Council of Lloyds of London, a member of the Panel of Senior Advisers at Chatham House and is the Chair of IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

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