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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

23rd March 2012

Ukraine’s 2012 elections: a welcome move

Photo: ubtur.com.ua

I blogged last week about how an early invitation to OSCE/ODIHR1 to send observers to the October 2012 parliamentary elections would be a “quick win” to help Ukraine show its commitment to democracy.  I subsequently saw a tweet from Foreign Minister Hryshchenko on 19 March saying that he had just signed off such an invitation.  This is a welcome move, and will enable the OSCE/ODIHR to send a “needs assessment mission” to Ukraine at the appropriate time.

Incidentally, a couple of commentators have suggested that because I have recently published several blogs about good things happening in Ukraine, I am in some way either (i) not objective; (ii) ill-informed; or (iii) hopelessly optimistic.  On the first, I would urge readers to check out all my blogs, interviews and speeches.  On the second, I’m open to all reasoned argument to persuade me I’m wrong about something.  On the third, I’m always wary of being seen as a devotee of arch-optimist Dr Pangloss.  But if something good happens, it’s important to recognise it.  That way, if you express concern about something later, people know that you strive to be objective (see (i)).

1  The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

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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