1
Dispatch → Account → Diplomacy
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
░░Overview░░Politics ░░Economy ░░Armed Forces░░Culture ░░International ░░
. . . . .
“Rule Britannia, Britannia Rules the Waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.”— James Thomson, 1740
/|
. . . . .
. . . . .
God Save the Queen
.
FCO Main Building, London, seen from
Whitehall
Formed: 1782, 239 years ago (as the Foreign
Office)
Preceding agencies:
Commonwealth Office
Foreign Office
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Headquarters: King Charles Street, London
Annual Budget: £1.1 bn (2021)
Ministers:
Rt Hon. Sir Thomas Jones: Secreatary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Rt Hon. Lord Goldsmith: Minister of State for the
Pacific and the Environment
Rt Hon. James Cleverly: Minister of State for the
Middle East and North Africa
Rt Hon. Lord Ahmad: Minister of State for South
Asia and the Commonwealth
Rt Hon, Wendy Morton: Minister for Europe and the
Americas
Department executive:
Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE: Permanent Under-
Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service
Child agencies:
Department for International Development
FCO Services
Wilton Park
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), commonly called the Foreign Office (FO), is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide and was created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.
The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, commonly abbreviated to "Foreign Secretary". This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the Cabinet – the Great Offices of State – alongside those of Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary.
The FCO is managed from day to day by a civil servant, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who also acts as the Head of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. This position is held by Sir Philip Barton, who took office on 2 September 2020.
In September 2020, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office was formed from merging with the Department for International Development and the Foreign Secretary's responsibilities merged with those of the Secretary of State for International Development.
Responsibilities
According to the FCO website, the department's key responsibilities (as of 2020) are as follows:
Safeguarding the UK's national security by countering terrorism and weapons proliferation, and working to reduce conflict.
Building the UK's prosperity by increasing exports and investment, opening markets, ensuring access to resources, and promoting sustainable global growth.
Supporting British nationals around the world through modern and efficient consular services.
In addition to the above responsibilities, the FCO is responsible for the British Crown Colonies. This arrangement has been subject to criticism in the UK and in the overseas territories; for instance, the Chief Minister of Anguilla, Victor Banks, said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of the Commonwealth, so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect". There have been numerous suggestions on ways to improve the relationship between the overseas territories and the UK. Suggestions have included setting up a dedicated department to handle relations with the overseas territories and the absorption of the OTD in the Cabinet Office, thus affording the overseas territories with better connections to the centre of government.
History
Eighteenth century
The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern and Northern Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office. The Home Office is technically the senior.
Nineteenth century
The western end of the FCO Main Building in
1866, facing St Jame's Park. It was then
occuppied by the Foreign and India Offices,
while the Home and Colonial Offices
occupied the Whitehall end.
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources. Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included: Henry Southern, Valentine Chirol, Harold Nicolson, and Robert Bruce Lockhart.
Twentieth century
During the First World War, the Arab Bureau was set up within the British Foreign Office as a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department. During the early cold war an important department was the Information Research Department, set up to counter Soviet propaganda and infiltration. The Foreign Office hired its first woman diplomat, Monica Milne, in 1946.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1968-Present)
The FCO was formed on 17 October 1968, from the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office having been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office and the India Office in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office held responsibility for international development issues between 1970 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1997.
The National Archives website contains a Government timeline to show the departments responsible for Foreign Affairs from 1945.
Under New Labour (1997-2010)
From 1997, international development became the responsibility of the separate Department for International Development.
When David Miliband took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand a review of the FCO's strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward.
The new strategic framework consists of three core elements:
A flexible global network of staff and offices, serving the whole of the UK Government
Three essential services that support the British economy, British nationals abroad and managed migration for Britain. These services are delivered through UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), consular teams in Britain and overseas, and UK Visas and Immigration
Four policy goals; countering terrorism and weapons proliferation and their causes, preventing and resolving conflict, promoting a low-carbon, high-growth, global economy, and developing effective international institutions, in particular the United Nations and the European Union.
In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public by Andrew Mackinlay. The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting:
The Foreign Office could be "slow to act"
Delegation is lacking within the management structure
Accountability was poor
The FCO could feasibly cut 1200 jobs
At least £48 million could be saved annually
New UK Diplomatic Posts - April 2013
The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations.
In 2009, Gordon Brown created the position of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the FCO. The first science adviser was David C. Clary.
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condoms, the opening of an abortion clinic and the blessing of a same-sex marriage.
Coalition and Conservatives
In 2012, the Foreign Office was criticised by Gerald Steinberg, of the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor, saying that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development provided more than £500,000 in funding to Palestinian NGOs which he said "promote political attacks on Israel." In response, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said "we are very careful about who and what we fund. The objective of our funding is to support efforts to achieve a two-state solution. Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees."
In September 2012, the FCO and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticised for further diminishing the UK's influence in Europe.
In 2011, the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague, announced the government's intention to a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network. As such, eight new embassies and six new consulates were opened around the world
Ministers
Minister | Image | Rank | Portfolio |
Rt Hon. Sir Thomas Jones | Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | Strategy Directorate; national security; intelligence; honours; Europe; all major spending decisions, and overall delivery and management of the 0.7% of Gross National Income spending for Official Development Assistance (ODA); working with and supporting international partners on the global response to COVID-19; Deputising for the Prime Minister. | |
Rt Hon James Cleverly | Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa conflict, humanitarian issues, human security; CHASE (Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department); Stabilisation Unit; defence and international security; Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) and Council of Europe; Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF); safeguarding; counter terrorism. | |
Rt Hon. Lord Goldsmith | Minister of State for the Pacific and Environment | international climate change, environment and conservation, biodiversity; oceans; Oceania; Blue Belt; COVID-19 issues related to animal welfare; agri-food trade (for negotiations); forestry policy: domestic and international; International Whaling Commission; international oceans; illegal wildlife trade; animal welfare; green recovery; trade including standards, market access and exports, geographical indicators; lead for Forestry Commission; House of Lords Minister for Environment, including Environment Bill. | |
Nigel Adams MP | Minister of State for Asia | East Asia and South East Asia; economic diplomacy; trade (including Trade for Development); Economics Unit; Prosperity Fund; communications; soft power, including British Council, BBC World Service and scholarships; third-country agreements; consular; global Travel Advice; repatriations policy and operations related to COVID-19; parliamentary relations. | |
Rt Hon. Lord Ahmad | Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth | South Asia; Commonwealth; UN and multilateral; governance and democracy; open societies and anti-corruption; human rights, including Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI); treaty policy and practice; sanctions; departmental operations: human resources and estates; COVID-19 HR issues; multilateral duties to the UN and the Commonwealth related to COVID-19. | |
James Durridge MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa; economic development; oversight of international financial institutions; CDC (UK government's development finance institution); research and evidence; medical procurement; wider supply chains. | |
Wendy Morton MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe and the Americas | East and South-East Europe (including Gibraltar and Akrotiri & Dhekelia); Central Asia; Americas (including the Falklands); health, global health security, neglected tropical diseases; water and sanitation; nutrition; global health including global work on COVID-19 vaccines; therapeutics and diagnostics, and multilateral health organisations including WHO; the Global Fund, GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance); cruises and contact with the cruise ship industry. | |
Palmerston | Chief Mouser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office | Moderate success in mouse catching, unpopular with Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office |
Foreign relations
Asia
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Sir Nicholas Kay |
| Positive |
| |
Simon Collis CMG |
| Allied |
| |
Owen Jenkins |
| Positive |
| |
Simon Hickey |
| Positive |
| |
Zionist State of Israel | Neil Wigan |
| Allied |
|
Julia Longbottom CMG |
| Allied |
| |
Empire of Afsharid Persia | Rob Macaire CMG |
| Negative |
|
Republic of the Philippines | Daniel Pruce |
| Positive |
|
Catherine Nettleton CMG |
| Unrecognised |
| |
Republic of Turkey | Dominick Chilcott KCMG |
| Allied |
|
Africa
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Jessica Hand |
| Neutral |
| |
Republic of Azania | Nigel Casey MVO |
| Positive |
|
Martin Reynolds CMG |
| Positive |
| |
Alisdair Walker |
| Allied |
|
North America
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Kingdom of Canada | Susan le Jeune d'Allegeeerscheque |
| Allied |
|
Republic of Central America | Ross Denny |
| Allied |
|
Karen Elizabeth Pierce |
| Allied |
|
South America
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Federative Republic of Brazil | Liz Davidson |
| Positive |
|
Europe
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Republic of Byeloruthenia | Jacqueline Perkins |
| Hostile |
|
French Republic | Edward Llewellyn |
| Allied |
|
Robert Leigh Turner CMG |
| Allied |
| |
Richard Wood |
| Positive |
| |
Vacant |
| Unrecognised |
| |
Sian Macleod |
| Positive |
|
Oceania
Nation | Ambassador | Embassies | Relations | Notes |
Federation of Australia | Victoria Treadell |
| Allied |
|