4 September 2026
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev’d Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, has announced that Harriet Mathews CMG OBE will be the next Chief Executive Officer and Diocesan Secretary of the Diocese of Chelmsford.
Harriet will join the Diocese in October this year, following a career in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) during which she served in a number of senior roles, most recently as Director General, Africa, the Americas and Overseas Territories.
Commenting on the appointment Bishop Guli said:
“I am delighted that Harriet will be joining us as our Chief Executive Officer and Diocesan Secretary. She brings considerable gifts and experience from her distinguished career in the civil service, alongside a deep commitment to serving our parishes and worshipping communities.
“It was a pleasure to meet Harriet and to begin to get to know her through the selection process. She is a person of deep Christian faith, and her appointment is good news for all who serve our churches, chaplaincies and schools across Essex and East London. I look forward to welcoming her onto the Bishop’s Leadership Team this autumn. In the meantime, please do join me in praying for her as she prepares to join us.”
Harriet Mathews said:
“I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to serve as Diocesan Secretary and Chief Executive Officer for the Diocese of Chelmsford. I look forward to meeting with and serving alongside people in churches, schools and chaplaincies across Essex and East London and learning more about the wonderful work that is taking place as well as the great variety of challenges and opportunities that are encountered by our church leaders and the communities they serve.”
The Chair of the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance, Jeffrey Mushens said:
“Harriet was an exceptional candidate in a robust and competitive selection process. Her substantial senior leadership experience will be of great value to the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance. She will bring outstanding skills, energy and commitment to the role, and I look forward to working with her as we serve the parishes, worshipping communities and schools across the Diocese of Chelmsford.”
Harriet succeeds Michaela Southworth, who announced earlier this year that she will be leaving her role this autumn.
The Diocesan Secretary and Chief Executive Officer serves the mission of the Church of England in Essex and East London as the senior executive of the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance, leading the diocesan staff team in enabling our parishes, worshipping communities and schools to flourish, and supporting the work of the Bishop of Chelmsford and her team.
About Harriet Mathews
Harriet Mathews joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997 and served in a variety of senior roles during a career spanning nearly three decades. Most recently she served as Director General, Africa, the Americas and Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office which included responsibility for the network of Embassies and people in that geographic area. She also served overseas in Brazil, Israel and Afghanistan and was the first female British Ambassador to Somalia. She was awarded an OBE for her work in West Africa in 2005, and a CMG in 2017 for her work on tackling Ebola.
Harriet is a practising Roman Catholic. Her interests include medieval history, nature, cookery and travel. She recently combined all these completing the last 120km of the Camino de Santiago.
She is married to David Frost.
