New British Ambassador to Hungary greets the nation in fluent Hungarian! – video
Justin McKenzie Smith, the new British Ambassador to Hungary, made a warm and memorable introduction by addressing the Hungarian public in fluent Hungarian. In a newly released video on Facebook, he shares his excitement about living in Hungary, and the caption mentions his distinguished diplomatic career spanning Georgia, Mexico City, Moscow, and New York. His Hungarian greeting quickly won over viewers, marking a promising start to his tenure in Budapest.
Check out the heartwarming video below:
Justin McKenzie Smith, the new British Ambassador to Budapest
H.E. Mr Justin McKenzie Smith, the United Kingdom’s new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, presented his credentials to H.E. Dr Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary, at Sándor Palace earlier this week.
Justin McKenzie Smith has reportedly been learning Hungarian for a year to be able to speak our mother tongue fluently, which is reflected in the video above.
Distinguished career
McKenzie Smith joined the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1994. His career began in the European Union Department, after which he served as Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Moscow between 1996 and 1999. From 1999 to 2002, he headed the European section responsible for human rights policy at the FCO, followed by two years as the department’s Ministerial Spokesperson. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as First Secretary at the United Kingdom’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
After returning to London, he held senior positions within the FCO’s Directorate for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, first as Deputy Director and later as Acting Director. In 2011, he was posted to Mexico City, where he worked until 2015 as Director of Trade and Investment and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy. From 2016 to 2020, he represented his country as the UK’s Ambassador to Georgia in Tbilisi, and between 2020 and 2021, he carried out diplomatic duties for the Scottish Government. From 2021 to 2024, he headed the FCDO’s Department for Central Asia and the Eastern Neighbourhood.
Predecessor retired
Following the retirement of his predecessor, Ambassador Paul Fox, Smith has taken over the role, bringing fresh energy to British–Hungarian diplomatic relations. In his introductory video, viewers were able to see not only the ambassador’s language skills but also his friendly and approachable manner.