James Lyall Sharp
James Lyall Sharp (born 12 April 1960) is a British diplomat who served as Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan 2002–2005. Since July 2019, he has been the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Azerbaijan. Early life. Sharp is a son of Sir Richard Lyall Sharp (1915–2002), a civil servant. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, and Durham University (St Cuthbert's Society) where he graduated in 1982 with a BA degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies.