Born of Seychellois parents on 27th July 1964 in Victoria, Seychelles, Barry Faure is married and has three children. As a child, he grew up in Kasese, Uganda, where his father worked, until he turned 9 years old. He started his Kindergarten education at home with his mother before moving into Bulembia Primary School, Kilembe, Uganda.

He completed his higher secondary education at Seychelles College in 1982. He then joined the Ministry of Education (Seychelles) as a supply teacher at Baie Lazare Primary School and, subsequently, taught at the National Youth Service of Seychelles (a secondary level boarding institution), before proceeding in 1985 to Havana, Cuba, to complete a Degree in Social and Political Sciences.

Upon his return to Seychelles in 1989, he worked at the Defence Academy as a Senior Civics Lecturer.

In 1992, he became First Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, starting a career in diplomacy.

He entered politics in 1993 when he was elected Member of the National Assembly representing the constituency of Anse Royale for the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front Party, now transformed into “The United Seychelles”. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2002 for the same constituency. He thus played an active role in the consideration and approval of a string of bills and motions, including the annual national budgets. While in the National Assembly, he chaired the International Affairs Committee between 1996 and 2006 and is a founding member of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Parliamentary Assembly, launched in 2005 in Mali. He represented Seychelles on the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly from 1993 to 2006.

Between 1995 and 1998, Faure held the post of Director for Investment and Trade Promotion at the Ministry of Industry. He was promoted to Director General for Local and International Business in 1998 and served as Director General of Economic Planning from 2002 to 2006.

He was active both in parliament and in government on development issues, including on questions of trade, fisheries, human rights, environment, climate change and the Millennium Development Goals. (Note that in Seychelles until 2007, it was permissible for a person to serve both in the civil service and in the legislature.)

In 2006, he was appointed Seychelles’ Ambassador to the European Communities, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and Andorra. During his 3-year term, Ambassador Faure was the lead Ambassador Negotiator (Fisheries) of the Eastern and Southern African Region (ESA/COMESA) for the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the European Commission. His role was instrumental in ensuring that an agreement was concluded between certain member states of COMESA (i.e., Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe) with the EU in December 2007. In the case of Seychelles, it salvaged the tuna industry. As a MiddleIncome Country, Seychelles tuna exports would not have qualified for market access to the EU.

In 2009, Ambassador Faure was appointed Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs. As Principal Secretary he was responsible for restructuring the Ministry and implementing the President’s policy of active economic diplomacy; as well as being the Accounting Officer for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Subsequently, he was appointed Secretary of State in the office of the President where he served from 17th June 2010 to 17th December 2012. Amongst other things, he was in charge of the Budget and Administration of the Office of the President, as well as State House Administration, which was inclusive of the Office of the Vice President and various other reporting bodies.

From 17th December 2012 to 31st December 2017, he served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during which time he handled various policy dossiers.

From January 2017 to December 2017, he served as Chair of the Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia (CGPCS) during Seychelles’ second year of its two-year mandate. In that capacity he chaired the 20th plenary session of the CGPCS from 5th to 7th July 2017 in Mauritius.

On 1st January 2018 until 31st January 2019, he served as Executive Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Office of the Vice President. He assisted the VP to bring new life, stability and credibility to the Department. He successfully reversed the high staff turnover and brought back experts as well as fresh blood into the organization.

From 1st February 2019 until October 2020, he had the responsibility for the Blue Economy Department, in addition to Foreign Affairs, in the Office of the Vice President. In that period, some of the major accomplishments were: the 2 signing of the Seychelles Strategic Partnership Agreement with the UN, Seychelles’ successful chairmanship of the Council of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the launch and development of the President’s programme as the African Union Champion for the development of the Blue Economy in Africa. He led efforts to further strengthen the budgetary and administrative control of the Department of the Blue Economy.

During the period at the leadership of Seychelles’ diplomacy, he was actively engaged with both the international community and local stakeholders, including the United Nations (particularly the regional office in Mauritius), the UNECA and the UNDP; regional bodies like the ACP, the AU, SADC, COMESA and the East African Standby Force (EASF); the diplomatic corps, the private sector, civil society, NGOs, academia, the media and foundations.

He served on several Boards as Chairman including the Development Bank of Seychelles, the Seychelles Tourism Board, the Seychelles2020 Presidential Commission, 2020 Development (Seychelles) Ltd (a government company dealing in real estate development and operating under the Companies Act); and from 2012 to May 2023, as Board Chairman of PetroSeychelles (a government agency which regulates and promotes the exploration of petroleum and gas exploration in the Seychelles EEZ), the La Digue Island Board and as Seychelles Commissioner to the Mauritius-Seychelles Joint Management Area, a first in the world in terms neighbouring states agreement to jointly share ownership and management of their extended continental shelf.

His activities on the various boards (local and international) involved working with governments, the private sector, civil society, NGOs, the media, academia and foundations. This, as in government, involved the active mobilization of resources, often using innovative financing arrangements in new frontiers.

Ambassador Barry Faure retired from the service of the Government of Seychelles on 1st December 2020, and continues to serve in his personal capacity as a Director on the Board of the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management Ltd (CPTM) which is based in London.

He currently runs his own consulting firm (BF Consultancy) in international trade, business and investments. Since October 2023 he is a member of the Central Committee of United Seychelles. He loves sports, including long distance running, cycling and deep-sea diving.