25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
23rd April 2024
Good English – A Key to Panama’s Future Success
21st March 2024
Forests in focus on International Day of Forests
30th October 2020 Belgrade, Serbia
A House in Dedinje
Diplomats move house more than most people. We move between countries every two, three or four years. We move backwards and forwards to and from our own countries. Even within our home countries jobs in our foreign ministries may be spread across more than one city. I have lived in six countries outside the UK. Some of my colleagues will have […]
27th October 2020 Juba, South Sudan
Prioritising WPS in South Sudan – every asset counts
The WPS agenda has been a priority for British foreign policy since UNSCR 1325 was agreed 20 years ago. All those seeking to address conflict have been encouraged to find ways to support women’s engagement in finding solutions, both on principle as all voices need to be heard if a conflict is to be resolved […]
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27th October 2020 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Chevening: An all-inclusive approach to post graduate studies
I have a post-it note pinned to my corkboard. It has the line “You seem to choose safe paths, avoiding any challenging, provoking arguments” scrawled on it. It’s a comment by one of my university professors at SOAS on the first assignment I submitted as a postgraduate student and Chevening Scholar. It’s not one of […]
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23rd October 2020 Vienna, Austria
Diplomatic lessons 1, 1979-83: Don’t judge a book by its cover
I’m delivering an online apprenticeship talk to staff in Vienna when someone asks me if I’ve thought of summarising everything I’ve learned in my 41-year career. ‘No,’ I say. They urge me to think again. So here is the first of several blogs seeking to distil a few lessons. Comments welcome. 3 October 1979 My […]
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23rd October 2020 London, UK
The Foreign Office and the creation of the UN
Pub quiz question: where was the first meeting of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly held? Answer: London, in the Methodist Central Hall on 10 January 1946. London features heavily in early UN history. The Security Council met for the first time in Church House, Westminster, the following week. Church House was also the location for […]
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23rd October 2020
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The UN at 75
Amongst many less pleasant events, 2020 also marks the much happier 75th year since the founding of the United Nations, and a series of commemorations is being held throughout the year. I congratulate UN Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ingrid Macdonald, and all of the UN staff for their open-ended commitment to BiH’s citizens, […]
23rd October 2020 Belgrade, Serbia
Sir Mick Jagger and the Art of Negotiation
This week stories about negotiations have been prominent in the media both in the UK and in Serbia. The history of diplomacy might also be called the history of negotiation. Negotiating is a way of life for diplomats. Whether you are working on a major arms control treaty, opening a new diplomatic mission or drafting a statement […]
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16th October 2020 Belgrade, Serbia
Diplomatic Tours
I arrived in Belgrade just over a year ago. But for over half of that time lives have been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic. For any newly arrived diplomat, that means that many of those first twelve months when you would be out and about starting to get to know your host country have […]
15th October 2020 Colombo, Sri Lanka
From applicant, scholar to panellist: A nervous Chevening journey
Nerves, nerves, and more nerves aptly describes my entire Chevening application experience. I was a bundle of nerves from the point of filling out the lengthy application online to that heart-racing moment I clicked open the acceptance email from the Chevening Secretariat. And this year – as I sat on the interview panel, grading the […]
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15th October 2020 Skopje, North Macedonia
More Women in Politics is a Must
In North Macedonia, we have fought the fight of gender equality since the country’s independence, and even though a lot has been accomplished, we are still far away from achieving full gender parity and equal opportunities. When I was asked, by the British Embassy, to write a blog post on women in politics, I welcomed […]