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Leigh Turner

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

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11th October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

EU and Ukraine: What’s happening?

What are the next steps on Ukraine’s integration into the EU?  And what on earth does DCFTA stand for?  To help answer these questions, the British Embassy is funding a series of seminars on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), organised with the help of the European Business Association.  The first of these […]

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11th October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Why Odesa drug busts are good news

Why are three huge drug hauls great news for Ukrainein general and Odesa in particular?  Because they show how practical law enforcement cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign agencies can bring real results. I recently visited Odesa and had useful talks with Governor Matviychuk and Mayor Hurvits about how to improve the business climate and generate […]

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11th October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Чому конфіскація наркотиків в Одесі є гарною новиною

Чому факти вилучення трьох величезних партій наркотиків означають добру новину для України в цілому та для Одеси зокрема? Бо ці операції наочно демонструють, що співпраця між українськими та закордонними правоохоронними органами приносить реальні результати. Недавно я відвідав Одесу та провів корисні переговори з губернатором Матвійчуком та мером Гурвіцем щодо того, яким чином можна покращити діловий […]

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6th October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Бункери, «Бітлз» та мода в Києві

Комерційні промоційні заходи зараз мають дуже різноманітну форму і розмах. Тому приємно відвідати «Ательє 1», підземний київський фешн бутік, який, як мене запевнили, визнаний одним із 10 наймодніших магазинів у світі, аби допомогти запустити нову колекцію одягу, що присвячена групі «Бітлз». З нагоди цієї події окремі частини бутіку були оформлені у стилі «Бітлз»: з музикою, […]

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1st October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

How to apply for UK visas under the Points Based System

The UK offers some of the best educational institutions in the world for children and adults.  So it’s no surprise that the Visa Section at the British Embassy in Kyiv receives many visa applications, particularly in late summer and early autumn, from young people keen to study in the UK. Unfortunately, in 2010, we have […]

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1st October 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Як подавати заяви на отримання віз до Великої Британії згідно системи оцінювання по балах

Велика Британія пропонує найкращі навчальні заклади у світі для дітей та дорослих. Тому це не дивно, що візовий відділ Посольства Великої Британії отримує багато візових заяв, особливо наприкінці літа та початку осені від молодих людей, які б хотіли навчатися у Великій Британії. На жаль, у 2010 році деяка кількість бажаючих навчатися в Сполученому Королівстві за […]

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30th September 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Свобода слова – в Ірані

У розпал обговорень питань свободи слова і засобів масової інформації, які точаться напередодні виборів в місцеві органи влади в Україні, я дізнався про те, що в Ірані до 19 років ув’язнення був засуджений відомий іранський блоггер Хусейн Дерахшан. Разом із забороною займатися політичною та журналістською діяльністю протягом п’яти років він був також оштрафований на суму […]

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17th September 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Can Ukraine learn from the Stasi?

Want to see how a Berlin schoolgirl volunteered to work with the East German State Security Ministry (Stasi)? How Dynamo Dresden striker Peter Kotte was relegated to the 7th Division in 1980 on suspicion of wanting to flee to the West? Or how a West Berlin member of parliament tricked a woman engineer from Leipzig […]

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18th August 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Ukraine: the Armageddon button

Ever wondered what the button looked like which would signal armageddon?  Now you can find out. Before 1991, Ukraine contained, on one estimate, enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world three times over.  By the end of the 1990s, every single nuclear missile and every silo on Ukrainian territory had been destroyed. Except for two […]

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9th August 2010

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by Leigh Turner

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

Stopping bribery in Ukraine – and the UK

I blogged last December about the urgent need to tackle corruption in Ukraine, which had slid to place 146 (out of 180) in Transparency International’s corruption index for 2009. Since the election of President Yanukovych, the new Ukrainian government has announced several anti-corruption measures, including welcome steps to deregulate business. That in turn could help […]

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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.