Ric Todd | |
Office: | High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Cyprus |
Term Start: | 2014 |
Term End: | 2016 |
Predecessor: | Matthew Kidd |
Successor: | Matthew Kidd |
Office2: | Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands |
Term Start2: | 2011[1] |
Term End2: | 2013 |
Premier2: | Rufus Ewing |
Predecessor2: | Gordon Wetherell |
Successor2: | Peter Beckingham |
Birth Date: | 29 August 1959 |
Birth Place: | Crawley, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom |
Spouse: | Magdalena Todd |
Alma Mater: | Worcester College, Oxford |
Damian Roderic Todd (born 29 August 1959) is a career British diplomat who has served as Ambassador to Slovakia, Ambassador to Poland, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands and High Commissioner to Cyprus.
Todd attended Lawrence Sheriff School, Rugby, then studied History at Worcester College, Oxford, and entered the Diplomatic Service in 1980. His diplomatic postings included:[2]
In 2016 Todd left his post in Cyprus for personal reasons. He was replaced by Matthew Kidd who had preceded Todd as High Commissioner.[3]
Many Turks Islanders, including the Turks and Caicos Islands Conservation Society, criticized Todd's environmental record. While acting as Governor of Turks and Caicos, Ric Todd unilaterally amended a long-standing provision in Turks and Caicos law that prohibited the importation (and non-natural exploitation) of marine mammals in Turks and Caicos. Despite the United Kingdom's ban on performing captive animals, Todd's amendment specifically allows for the importation and use of marine mammals for the purpose of "display, exhibition and performance" – the principal marine mammal this may be targeted towards is a likely dolphin attraction.[4]