Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

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28th March 2017

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Not Just Someone Else’s Problem: Prevention of Torture

Over the past fortnight I have spent a lot of time reading and thinking about prevention of torture. As a diplomat my professional interest has largely related previously to relevant international conventions and to countries that disregard international obligation and use torture as a means of intimidation or coercion. As a UK citizen I have […]

8th March 2017

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Shifting Dynamics

I am one of 20 women ambassadors at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. We are 35% of the total (possibly the highest proportion at any multilateral organisation?). Women are also well represented at other levels in many OSCE delegations. It has been suggested to me that this might be because the OSCE […]

Facts, Opinions and Falsehoods: Freedom of Expression in a ‘Post-Truth’ Age

Freedom of expression, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international legal obligations, is one of the principles underlying the common ground upon which the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was built. From its earliest days the states of the OSCE (and its forerunner CSCE) were clear that this right […]

22nd February 2017

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Relevant, Responsive and Responsible Democracy

Democracy…..has the disadvantage of merely counting votes not weighing them. (Dean Inge 1860-1954) Meeting in Paris in 1990 the states of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, forerunner of the OSCE, heralded ‘A New Era of Democracy, Peace and Unity’: We undertake to build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as the only system of […]

31st January 2017

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

The Human Dimension

Human rights and fundamental freedoms are integral to the concept of comprehensive security embodied by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. This year this UK has taken on the role of chairing OSCE Human Dimension Committee. This is one of the main pillars of the organisation. How governments treat their people, and we […]

30th August 2016

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

A Potsdam Prism

In January 1992 in the early days of a reunified Germany I visited Potsdam after dropping off the Vilnius Diplomatic Bag at the British offices in the old Berlin Olympic Stadium. I wanted to see the Palace of Sans Souci, where Frederick the Great had employed Quantz and CPE Bach. But even after three years […]

Days of the Ambassadors: Postcards from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo is not just a beautiful, historic city. Set in a magical landscape, it is also an enchanting one, full of life and promise, but with a past as painful as any European city in living history. To me, as to so many diplomats – indeed millions of people around the world – the names […]

13th June 2016

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Some ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of Diplomatic Etiquette

Tidying out an Embassy cupboard recently, a colleague found a booklet that I first read when I joined the Diplomatic Service in 1986. Even then the 1965 Guidance to Diplomatic Service Officers and Wives posted to Diplomatic Missions Overseas seemed quaint and outdated. Looking at it now some of the advice seems better suited to […]

19th May 2016

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Making the Case for Tolerance

This afternoon I will attend a memorial service in the City of London’s Guildhall to celebrate the long, eventful life of Sir Nicholas Winton, who died last year aged 106. As a young man, Sir Nicholas travelled briefly to Prague in 1938 to help a friend facilitating urgent evacuation of refugees from the looming Nazi […]

9th December 2015

by Sian MacLeod

UK Ambassador to Serbia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Diplomatic Board Games

Years ago, studying in London, I was puzzled by the enthusiasm of international relations students for spending days at a time for running from room to room playing ‘Diplomacy’. Throughout my subsequent years as a diplomat the board game has seemed far removed from what I do – until now. Last week I attended my […]

About Sian MacLeod

Sian Macleod was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia in September 2019. Prior to this, Sian was Ambassador and Head of the UK Delegation to the Organization…

Sian Macleod was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia in September 2019. Prior to this, Sian was Ambassador and Head of the UK Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Sian joined the FCO in 1986. Her first posting was to Moscow. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she served briefly in the Embassy in Vilnius. Since then she has been posted to The Hague, returned to Moscow 2004-7, where she became Minister (Deputy Head of Mission). Between overseas postings she has worked in the FCO and the Cabinet Office.

Sian was Ambassador in Prague from 2009 to 2013 and then Director of the British Council Triennial Review and FCO Additional Director for the Eastern European & Central Asian Directorate.

Sian is married to Richard Robinson and they have three children and enjoy music, cycling and cross-country skiing.

Before joining the FCO she studied music at the Winchester School of Art and the Royal Academy of Music.

Sian MacLeod

Not Just Someone Else’s Problem: Prevention of Torture

Shifting Dynamics

Facts, Opinions and Falsehoods: Freedom of Expression in a ‘Post-Truth’ Age

Relevant, Responsive and Responsible Democracy

The Human Dimension

A Potsdam Prism

Days of the Ambassadors: Postcards from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Some ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of Diplomatic Etiquette

Making the Case for Tolerance

Diplomatic Board Games

About Sian MacLeod

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