The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Iceland is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Iceland, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Iceland. There official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland. Both the British embassy and the ambassador's residence are in Reykjavík. The British embassy shares a site and several common facilities with the German embassy. History The UK's first representative to Iceland was appointed during the Second World War. Until then, Iceland had been a dependency of Denmark and then, since 1918, a sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark, with Denmark handling Icelandic foreign policy. On 9 April 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Denmark and the British Minister, Charles Smith, who had been appointed only six months previously, and his staff were expelled. Immediately, Iceland declared itself responsible for its own foreign affairs, and declared strict neutrality. To prevent the emergence of a pro-Nazi government in Reykjavík, and help fight the Battle of the Atlantic, the United Kingdom occupied Iceland on 10 May 1940. With the British troops, Charles Howard Smith arrived as envoy to the Icelandic government. Smith died in his post in 1942, and was replaced by Gerald Shepherd (later Sir Gerald) the following year. In 1944, still at the height of the war, Iceland declared its full independence from Denmark. Although the diplomatic mission in Iceland is not a large one, nor particularly prestigious, its importance during the Cold War was disproportionate, due to its strategic location in the North Atlantic. More crucial to British interests was the string of diplomatic and economic disputes related to fishing rights, which culminated in the Cod Wars. List of heads of mission Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 1940–1942: Charles Howard Smith 1943–1947: Sir Gerald Shepherd 1947–1950: Charles Baxter 1950–1953: John Greenway 1953–1956: James Henderson 1956–1957: Andrew Gilchrist Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 1957–1959: Andrew Gilchrist 1959–1962: Charles Stewart 1962–1965: Basil Boothby 1966–1970: Aubrey Halford-MacLeod 1970–1975: John McKenzie 1975–1981: Kenneth East 1981–1983: William McQuillan 1983–1986: Richard Thomas 1986–1989: Mark Chapman 1989–1991: Sir Richard Best 1991–1993: Patrick Wogan 1993–1996: Michael Hone 1996–2000: James McCulloch 2001–2004: John Culver 2004–2008: Alp Mehmet 2008–2012: Ian Whitting 2012–2016: Stuart Gill 2016–2021: Michael Nevin August 2021–: Bryony Mathew References External links UK and Iceland, gov.uk Iceland United Kingdom