My friend Andy Henderson, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a career diplomat who spent 45 years at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Andy was born in Cheltenham. His parents, Pat and Jim Henderson, had moved there from India, where they met during the second world war while both were serving in the army. Andy joined the FCO directly from school and spent the early part of his career working in Latin America and Norway. He spent some time in London as private secretary to two ministers, and in 1987 he married Julia King, who was also working at the FCO.

After they were married he was posted to the US, where he lobbied against the application of the MacBride Principles (the code of conduct for US companies doing business with Northern Ireland) with their potential to discourage investment. Open and positive with a great sense of humour, he developed relationships with legislators across the US and Northern Ireland of all political persuasions.

From Washington he moved to Luanda, Angola, arriving during a brief ceasefire before Angola’s first democratic elections in September 1992. As the country descended back into war, Andy was involved in helping to evacuate British and Commonwealth citizens from the city.

The latter half of his career was spent in Cairo, Jeddah and São Paulo, and culminated in his appointments as British ambassador to Algeria in 2007 and British trade commissioner to South Africa in 2011. He supported British business in a wide range of sectors while monitoring political developments in the countries to which he had been posted. He relished the opportunity of exploring and getting to know people in the countries in which he lived.

With his strong sense of community, Andy engaged with charities and community organisations wherever he worked. He greeted all he met with warmth and courtesy, whether he was spinning candy floss for children at a Children at Risk Foundation street party in São Paulo or meeting royalty. Many turned to Andy for advice and guidance; he was generous with his time and always willing to help.

Still eager to continue contributing after leaving the FCO in 2016, Andy joined Bibimoney, a financial technology company with a vision to provide financial services to people in rural Africa with no access to banks.

As a young man, Andy was a talented sportsman. He continued to follow rugby, cricket and football, and play the occasional round of golf. But most of all he was a dedicated husband and father.

He is survived by Julia and their daughters, Emma and Amelia.