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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

4th March 2014

What do governments talk to the Holy See about?

Foreign Office Minister Hugh Robertson

I hope that regular readers of this blog will already know the answer to this question. As Ambassador to the Holy See, I find myself engaging with the Holy See on a wide range of issues covering British foreign policy priorities and Holy See concerns, across our respective global networks. Perhaps a couple of examples from this week, during which we have two senior official visitors in town,  will help to illustrate this in greater detail?

First, we have the visit of our Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign Office, Hugh Robertson MP. Mr Robertson will make a number of calls, including on the Secretariat of State, the Congregation for Eastern Churches (which looks after those churches of Eastern rite in communion with Rome), and the Jesuit Refugee Service. Discussion is certain to focus on the situation in Syria, the need to ensure humanitarian access to Syrian refugees especially those trapped inside the country in areas controlled by the Assad regime, and on the difficulties faced by many Christian communities across the region. Holy See insights will inform British policy making in these areas. Our views will in turn, we hope, be listened to with care by our interlocutors.

Second, the Foreign Secretary’s Climate Change Envoy, Sir David King, will call on the Secretariat of State and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to discuss our respective approaches to one of the great challenges of our time – climate change and man’s relationship with our planet on which we depend to survive. He will  explore Holy See thinking before the two successive climate change summits in Lima this year, and Paris in 2015, and as we look ahead to the UN negotiations on the post-2015 global sustainable development goals.

In essence, these conversations will be about peace, dialogue, and respect for creation, priorities highlighted by Pope Francis when he addressed the diplomatic corps in March last year shortly after his inauguration. Like the Pope himself, we want the Holy See’s voice to be heard on these issues, and we shall be encouraging them to speak out more. Such issues are the fundamental stuff of diplomatic engagement and dialogue. They are part and parcel of the British government’s continual conversation with the Holy See

About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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