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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

18th January 2012

Meanwhile in Antarctica

One hundred years ago, the great British explorer Captain Scott and his companions arrived at the South Pole.  To mark this occasion, British Prime Minister David Cameron sent an audio message to the scientists and support staff at British bases in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.  You can read more about the Prime Minister’s message here; and more about Captain Scott and his ill-fated expedition here (some great links at this site).  For real exploration (and film) buffs, I recommend the re-released 1924 film “The Great White Silence”, which I watched recently with great pleasure.

Ukraine and the United Kingdom have a terrific record of cooperation in Antarctica.  In 1994, Ukraine was admitted to the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research, with the active support of the UK.  The same year the UK decided to close its Antarctic station Faraday, set up in 1934, and offered Ukraine the opportunity to take it over.  Ukraine accepted and the British Antarctic Survey trained Ukrainian staff to operate the station.  On 6 February 1996, the Union Jack was lowered and the Ukrainian flag raised.  The station was renamed Akademik Vernadsky.

Picture from The Great White Silence

2 comments on “Meanwhile in Antarctica”

  1. A job that requires a huge sacrifice, aimed at understanding and study of global warming and the preservation of the Antarctic. Adventurers as Scott make great humanity.

  2. A job that requires a huge sacrifice, aimed at understanding and study of global warming and conservation make it big as Scott Antártida.Aventureros humanity.

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About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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