Sir David Hannay was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford in modern history.
He entered the British Diplomatic Serive in 1959 with placements in Tehran and Kabul, and later in the foreign office in London in the Eastern Dept..
In 1965 he was appointed 2nd Secretary and later 1st Secretary to the UK Delegation to the European Community. In 1970 he was appointed 1st Secretary to the UK negotiating team for entry into the EC.
From 1973-1977 he held the post of Chef de Cabinet for Sir Christopher Soames (Vice-President of the Commission of the EC) and from 1979-1984 was Assistant Under-Secretary of State (European Community) at the Foreign Office.
From 1984-1985 Hannay held the position of Minister at the British Embassy in Washington and from 1985-1990 he held the post of Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the EC.
From 1990-95 he is UK Permanent Representative to the UN and the from 1996 to 2003 UK Special Representative for Cyprus.