31st July 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
Dear Lebanon, Sorry to write again. But I’m leaving your extraordinary country after four years. Unlike your politicians, I can’t extend my own term. When I arrived, my first email said ‘welcome to Lebanon, your files have been corrupted’. It should have continued: never think you understand it, never think you can fix it, never […]
20th July 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
This week I walked the coast of Lebanon, from Hamat to Beirut. I wanted to find a way to say goodbye to people that was not about protocol-heavy meetings with leaders in air conditioned rooms. My security profile meant that we could not tell anyone we were coming, slightly undermining the plan, but it still […]
18th June 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
This week is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. This was celebrated in the UK as the moment when the barons imposed on the monarch an agreement for greater liberties and rights, a milestone on the way to many of the freedoms we enjoy today. That journey reached a high point with the Universal […]
5th June 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
Last month, we launched the UK Lebanon Tech Hub. You can see a clip of a drone delivering my speech – for the first and last time, I can suggest that Enrique Iglesias take note. I normally try to write speeches while running. Jogging with bodyguards makes me look like the poor man’s slow Madonna, […]
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12th March 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
On the first anniversary of the Syria conflict, I wrote about the staggering impact it had already had – those numbers seem small now. On the second anniversary, I wrote about the generosity of Syria’s neighbours and parts of the international community, the frustrations of diplomacy, and the need to maintain a sense of rage. […]
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8th March 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
As we mark International Women’s Day, discrimination and violence against women and girls remain all too present. In Lebanon we continue to lobby for better political representation for women, and to challenge inequality, an issue worth being undiplomatic about. I want to share with you guest blogposts by two great Lebanese women who have inspired […]
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27th February 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
I spend a lot of time in universities, talking with students about their hopes for the region and their perceptions of the UK. Lebanon has always been a good place to listen to the currents surging through the Middle East. These sessions are always lively, surprising, challenging. It is foolish to try to generalise about […]
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18th February 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
The Syria conflict has created the biggest refugee crisis in modern history – imagine everyone inside the M25 leaving Britain. Lebanon is dealing with an unprecedented influx of those vulnerable refugees, 78% of them women and children. The international community’s response has been huge – we are spending more in Lebanon per square kilometre than […]
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13th February 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
Spring 2005 was when I decided that I would one day work in Lebanon. I was based in our Paris embassy when Rafik Hariri and 21 others were murdered. I remember reading the powerful reports sent by the then ambassador, James Watt, and sharing frantic updates with Lebanese and French friends. The Valentine’s Day massacre ripped […]
16th January 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
All over the Foreign Office network, we draw on advice and analysis from our brilliant locally engaged staff. One of our colleagues here, Nadim Zaazaa, is leaving us to work on an exciting project – the UK-Lebanon Tech Hub. See here for more details. He shared with me some parting thoughts about the Middle East, […]
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