Anne Pringle
Dame Anne Fyfe Pringle is a British diplomat and the former HM Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation. From 2001 to 2004, Pringle was the British ambassador to the Czech Republic. She is a candidate in the 2026 University of St Andrews Chancellor election.
Early life
Pringle was born in Glasgow, Scotland and attended the Glasgow High School for Girls. She then studied at the University of St Andrews, graduating with a degree in French and German in 1977.Career
After graduation, she entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where she held various appointments to the United States, Moscow and Brussels at the European Union. Her first senior posting was as Head of the FCO’s Common Foreign and Security Policy Department and her first ambassadorial posting was as Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2001 to 2004. She was the Ambassador to Russia from 2008 to 2011, the first woman to hold the position in its 450-year history. Pringle presented her Letter of Credence to President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on 16 January 2009. Dame Anne was succeeded by Sir Tim Barrow in November 2011.Honours and awards
Awarded a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2004, Pringle advanced to become a Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 2010 New Year Honours. Pringle received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2010.Between 2016 and 2020, Dame Anne was appointed as Senior Governor on the Court of the University of St Andrews, and as such was the working chairperson of the University Court, and presided over meetings of the Court in the absence of the Rector. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from St Andrews in 2022. She is one of four candidates in the 2026 University of St Andrews Chancellor election.