The first Consul General in Rio de Janeiro was appointed in 1808, at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese royal court in Brazil - under escort by ships of the British Royal Navy. The first holder of the office was James (later Sir J) Gambier. In the same year Brazil’s ports were officially opened to “friendly nations” including Britain. This marked the development of commercial relations with the UK. The Rothschilds, for example, became bankers to the Imperial and the Brazilian Governments; and Britain played a major role in the construction of the Brazilian railway system and undersea telegraph.

Subsequently, when Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822, Rio de Janeiro became home to the first British Ambassador to Brazil, Sir Robert Gordon.

The UK played a significant role in negotiating the terms of Portuguese recognition of Brazilian independence and the pressure to end slave trade.

One well-known former Consul General in Rio de Janeiro was Roger Casement (appointed 1908), the Irish nationalist and traitor hanged in 1916.

In 1941, the British Embassy was transferred to Praia do Flamengo, and is located at the same address where you can find the British Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro today.

The construction of the first purpose-built Embassy and British Ambassador's Residence in Rio de Janeiro, a Georgian-style mansion, began in 1947 and was completed in June 1950 when Sir Nevil Butler took up residency.   The building was later sold to the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1974 and became the "City Palace" or “Palácio da Cidade”, to date the official residence of the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

From British Embassy to British Consulate General

In 1960, the Brazilian capital was officially transferred from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, however it took until 1973 to complete the changeover. During this time, from 1960 to 1973, the British Embassy functioned in the two cities.  Only in 1973 did the office in Rio de Janeiro formally become a British Consulate General subordinate to the Embassy in Brasília.

Present and past Consul-Generals in Rio de Janeiro

Tim Flear MVO has been the Consul General since July 2006. You can find a list of his predecessors in previous Consuls.

Royal Visitors to Rio de Janeiro

In 1968, HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Phillip visited Rio de Janeiro on a State Visit to Brazil and took part in a symbolic inauguration of the construction of the major Rio-Niterói bridge.  The building of the bridge started in the following year with the help of British technology and financial support.

HRH Prince Charles visited Rio in 1978 and again in 1991 when Princess Diana accompanied him.  In 2000, HRH Prince Charles made a third visit to Rio and called on commercial contacts in the oil and gas sector and visited community projects in São João de Meriti and Cantagalo.   In 2007, both HRH Prince Andrew (the Duke of York) and HRH Princess Anne (the Princess Royal) visited Rio on two separate occasions.

UK Government Ministers and other representatives also visit Rio de Janeiro on a regular basis to promote political, economic and other co-operation as well as trade and investment.  In 2007, the following VIP visitors came to Rio: the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the Chairman of Lloyd's of London, the Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry, and the Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment.  In 2008, the following UK Ministers came to Rio: Alan Johnson, Minister for Health and Kim Howells, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Other diplomatic posts in Brazil

Currently, in addition to the British Embassy in Brasília and the Consulate- Generals in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the UK has other 12 offices in 12 cities, two of which are combined Commercial Offices and Honorary Consulates, the others offer only consular services. Find out which British Honorary Consulates and Commercial Offices in Brazil are closest to you.