Sir William Charters Patey, KCMG (born 11 July 1953) is a British retired diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012, and previously served as Ambassador to Sudan, to Iraq and to Saudi Arabia.
He retired from HM Diplomatic Service in April 2012 and was replaced by Sir Richard Stagg, formerly British High Commissioner to India. He has since worked in business.
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Early life
Patey attended Trinity Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland until 1971. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) from the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland.
Career
Patey joined the FCO in 1975. He went to the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies (MECAS) from 1977-8. From 2005-6 he was the Ambassador to Iraq and from 2002-5 the Ambassador to Sudan. Patey gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry on 24 November 2009 and 5 January 2010.
From May 2010 to April 2012, Patey was the British ambassador to Afghanistan.