Guest Post

30th November 2015 London, UK

Isabelle Tombs

FCO Historian

A famous Scot in the FCO for St Andrews Day

Sir Fitzroy Maclean (1911-96) — a ‘true Maclean scion’ ‘A man of daring character, with Foreign Office training’: thus Winston Churchill perfectly summed up the glamorous and enigmatic Fitzroy Maclean, who combined the careers of diplomat, soldier, partisan, politician and writer. His talents — aided by personal charm and enviable contacts — enabled him to […]

30th November 2015

Scott Wightman

British High Commissioner, Singapore

Scotland the Brave … and Innovative

Today is St Andrew’s Day, when Scotland celebrates its Patron Saint. It’s a day for all of us Scots to mark Scotland’s contribution to the UK and indeed to the wider world. The American author, Arthur Herman, published a book a few years ago entitled “How the Scots invented the Modern World”. His focus was […]

25th November 2015 London, UK

Gautham Rao

Gautham Rao is an assistant professor of history at American University. His book, National Duties: Custom Houses and the Making of the American State will be published by the University of Chicago Press in 2016.

The start of a beautiful friendship

You’ve probably heard of the War of 1812, but do you know about the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of July 3, 1815, or ‘A Convention to Regulate the Commerce between the Territories of the United States and of His Britannick Majesty?’ Probably not, especially since the name is so tricky to remember. However, it […]

2nd November 2015 USA

Priya Guha

British Consul General to San Francisco

Having It All

Identity is complicated. As a British-Indian representing the UK overseas I had spent more time spelling my name than talking about gender. But that changed in 2011 when I became the first female British Consul General to San Francisco. A year later, I had the privilege of joining some of the brightest young Americans at […]

Finding the time for some digital learning

Most communications professionals want to sharpen their digital communication skills, but we all know it’s hard to find the time to learn new skills and practice them. September was digital learning month for the Communication Directorate at the FCO. Our digital team offered up their creative skills and time to run training sessions and demos […]

17th September 2015 London, UK

Christian Turner

British High Commissioner to Kenya

Twitter: To Engage or Not to Engage

I was not an early adopter of twitter. I wondered what I would have to say of interest, and was suspicious of the time it would take. Apprehensively, I sent my first tweet the night I presented my credentials as High Commisioner in Nairobi. Three and a half years later, I am a convert. If […]