DIPLO Blog

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 5th March 2020 Vienna, Austria Authors you should read moreI’m looking at my bookshelf at home when I notice a weird similarity to the rogues’ gallery of former British ambassadors to Austria in the embassy. My bookshelf is dominated by male authors. The rogues’ gallery for Vienna is exclusively male, up until my excellent predecessor, Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque (in Vienna 2012-16). Male domination of both literature and diplomacy belongs in the past. Despite their relative rarity on my bookshelves, I enjoy many women authors: a quick scout turned up Jane Austen (“Pride and Prejudice” – a fantastically elegant, and funny, book); Charlotte Bronte (“Jane Eyre”); AS Byatt (“Possession”); Jung Chang (“Wild Swans”); Jackie Collins (“Hollywood Wives” – my tastes are eclectic); George Eliot (“Middlemarch” – one ..

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 28th February 2020 Vienna, Austria My Welsh Great-Grandfather, literature and football 1 March is St David’s Day, named after the patron saint of Wales who died in 589. I’m part-Welsh: my great-grandfather John Derfel (photo above) came from the the town of Llanderfel in north Wales and was the son of the Welsh poet and political writer Robert Jones Derfel (for the Welsh-language Wikipedia entry, click here). According to family lore, Robert Jones Derfel took the name “Derfel” because the winner of the Bardic poem at the national Eisteddfod, a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance, was encouraged to take his birthplace as a last name as a distinction. The name “Derfel” continues in our family to this day. I recently learned that a digital version of his works is in the archive of the National Librar..

Skip to content Nick Pearson Pro Consul at the British Consulate-General Guest blogger for UK in Australia Part of UK in Australia 28th February 2020 Canberra, Australia What matters to me on the day before the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Nick Pearson our Pro Consul at the Consulate-General office in SydneyEvery year it is hard to miss the signs that the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras season is upon us. While permanent reminders of Sydney’s support for the LGBTQI community – such as the iconic Rainbow Crossing in Taylor Square – remain with us year-round, it is fair to say the city shifts into gear as the Mardi Gras parade approaches. Whether it is a more civic reminder, such as a rainbow flag flying above Sydney Town Hall, or something more vibrant like a drag queen passing by at a pedestrian crossing en route to a performance in a city pub, the visibility of the LGBTQI community in Sydney truly reaches an all-time high at this time of year. Culminating in a parade drawi..

Skip to content Aidan Liddle UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament 21st February 2020 Geneva, Switzerland Disarmament blog: the P5 meet in London Last week saw a major milestone in preparations for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in April, when the five NPT Nuclear Weapon States met at Lancaster House in London for their ninth annual ‘P5’ conference. We began the Conference by welcoming the new RevCon President-designate, Gustavo Zlauvinen of Argentina, and the chairs of the three Main Committees, collectively known as the Bureau. It was useful to hear more about what they thought the key issues for the RevCon would be, what a successful outcome might look like, and what they thought the P5 could do to help achieve it. In the afternoon, we continued the P5 Conference tradition of a civil society segment. This one was bigger and better than ever: thanks to our partners at King’s College London and the European Leadershi..

Skip to content Matt Field British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Part of #BeyondPlastic UK in Bosnia and Herzegovina 13th February 2020 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina What will you do? In November this year, the UK and Italy will together host the UN Climate Change Conference, popularly called COP 26, in Glasgow. It is a great responsibility, but one which both of our governments are enthusiastic and determined to deliver on. The situation facing all of us today is critical. The science is clear – climate change is real and it is threatening our future. Current actions fall far short of what is needed to limit the catastrophic damage to our lives, and those of our children. It is already evident in the extreme weather we see more of – droughts, flooding, storms, and melting ice caps – and we can expect more ahead of us. It will massively impact on our food production, our health, and our very lives. Our oceans are increasingly full of plastic, our biodiversity shrinking, and ..

Skip to content Peter Jones Chief Operating Officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Guest blogger for Foreign Office 11th February 2020 Manchester: International links and ambition A second evacuation plane, carrying over 200 passengers, travelled from Wuhan to the UK over the week-end. As colleagues are all too aware, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation on 30 January, has been a big part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s crisis work so far this year to support British Nationals at risk. Last Monday, I visited Manchester as part of a British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) series of national engagement events. Wuhan was a hot topic of conversation, but not for the reasons you might expect. Manchester and Wuhan have been sister cities since 1986. In the last 3 decades, their city-to-city partnership has created and strengthened business links, sporting and cultural ties, fostered skills and expertise exchange, an..

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 11th February 2020 Vienna, Austria How the British residence in Vienna was rescued: 1945-1950 “It is open to doubt whether this location in Vienna is really suitable for the Minister’s residence… it can in no way be considered a pleasant district in which to live.” How times change! Historic papers we recently unearthed about the restoration of the British ambassador’s residence at Metternichgasse 6 in Vienna after 1945 contain fascinating nuggets. The residence was built in 1873 for the British government by the Austrian architect Viktor Rumpelmayer. After the Anschluss in 1938, it was sold to the National Socialist Flying Corps, and in 1945 became the property of the Austrian government. The excellent “Room for Diplomacy”, by my former Foreign office colleague Mark Bertram, sets out its history. This pre-war pi..

Skip to content Sheak Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Apprentice Guest blogger for FCO Careers Part of FCO Apprenticeship Schemes 7th February 2020 United Kingdom Sheak: a day in the life of a Foreign Office apprentice Sheak is a Level 3 Business Administration Apprentice, working in the Legal Department at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). My typical day at the Foreign OfficeMy day starts in my office in the Legal Department. My colleagues are mostly International Lawyers working on Human Rights. They’re a great bunch who work extremely hard but also take the time to relax so that there is always an enjoyable atmosphere. I log in to my laptop and begin answering emails or checking up on tasks from the day before. I mostly work with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and I have to ensure that I maintain the operational delivery capacities of our international lawyers, whose role is as solicitors representing the UK government in front of the judges of the ECHR. This ..

Skip to content Molly Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Apprentice Guest blogger for FCO Careers Part of FCO Apprenticeship Schemes 7th February 2020 United Kingdom Molly: a day in the life of a Foreign Office apprentice Molly is a Level 3 HR Support Apprentice, working in the Finance Directorate at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). My typical day at the Foreign OfficeA typical day in the office for me is working with my team to help get our officers overseas. This can range from liaising with our freight contractors to move personal belongings, to collaborating with our appointments teams to know who’s going where, to presenting on a course to help prepare our officers for their roles and life overseas. Life as an apprentice is always varied with our requirement for “off the job” learning, which leads us into some great learning opportunities. My biggest achievement so far?I have lots of little achievements within my time in HR Services and a few big ones. For me, every arri..

Skip to content Simon Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Apprentice Graduate Guest blogger for FCO Careers Part of FCO Apprenticeship Schemes 5th February 2020 United Kingdom Simon: a day in the life of a Foreign Office apprentice Simon is a Level 3 Business Administration Apprentice graduate. After completing his apprenticeship, he now works in a geographical team at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). My typical day at the Foreign OfficeI work in a geographical department that is responsible for managing the UK’s relationships with 3 European countries. My role is split into 3 parts: Acting as a Personal Assistant to the head of departmentProviding business administration support for the departmentAlso, providing some policy support across the departmentThis makes my work really varied and allows me to focus my development on areas I find particularly stimulating. I’ve worked on some really interesting projects, for example I now lead on liaising with our overseas posts and co..