Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

8th March 2013

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Women at the Holy See

As we reflect on International Women’s Day, it seems clear to me that one of the tasks awaiting the successor to Benedict XVI will be to explore how the Holy See, and the Roman Catholic Church, can use better the talents, energy and loyalty of the women in its ranks. Anyone who works with the […]

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8th March 2013 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Happy International Women’s Day!

I am delighted to introduce today’s guest blog by an old friend, Dorota Mitrus*, who made an important contribution to helping promote effective democratic participation in Poland post-1989 and is now engaged in promoting democracy and effective governance in many other countries. Her blog speaks for itself. What I would like to stress is that […]

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8th March 2013

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by Leigh Turner

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

Simone de Beauvoir’s got your number, Slim

Who said, when consulted on the possibility of women entering the British Diplomatic Service: “I dare say that the intellectual type of woman, which would presumably be the type to enter the Service, would be as useful as a man in a purely intellectual occupation such as that of junior clerk in the Foreign Office… […]

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8th March 2013

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

‘A promise is a promise’

Today, we are celebrating annual International Women’s Day. This is an important occasion to raise awareness about women’s rights and to commemorate women who have fought for equality. (Something which I think of whenever I see the grave of Sylvia Pankhurst, campaigner for women’s suffrage in the UK, at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.) […]

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8th March 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

by Nikesh Mehta

Counsellor for Foreign Policy and Security

One Woman’s Fight to End Gender Discrimination in Malaysia

I’m delighted that Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, daughter of Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad, has kindly agreed to write a guest blog for the British High Commission to mark International Women’s Day 2013. This year’s theme is ‘The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum’. As one of Malaysia’s foremost advocates for gender equality, I couldn’t […]

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8th March 2013 London, UK

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by Rob Fenn

Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO

International Women’s Day 2013

Guest blog by Julia Fenn, the British High Commissioner’s wife, on the importance of International Women’s Day and what this day means to her personally. I have celebrated International Women’s Day in Brunei for the last three years, though I have to confess that I never particularly marked the date anywhere else before. It is strange how […]

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8th March 2013

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by Nick Bridge

Special Representative for Climate Change

Closing the Gender Gap

Today is International Women’s Day, an annual event launched over a century ago, in 1910, to celebrate the social and economic achievements of women.

The situation for women since then has changed profoundly…

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7th March 2013 Boston, USA

Boston “townies” tasked with helping Obama on Climate Change and Energy

The anticipation is building in New England as two Bostonians were nominated for key positions within the new Obama administration. On Monday, President Obama named Ernest Moniz as energy secretary and Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Moniz, a professor of physics and engineering at MIT, is a leading energy researcher that […]

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7th March 2013 Budapest, Hungary

by Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Commercial diplomacy in action

It’s been a long time since I last posted a blog. Not because I’ve got lazy! But because I’ve been travelling so much lately.  I’ve been away for large parts of three of the last four weeks. Each time for really good events, and each of which events were about the Central Europe region rather […]

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7th March 2013 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

FCO women’s stories: Kara Owen

In the lead up to International Women’s Day on Friday, we are featuring the stories of women who work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as guest posts across the FCO bloggers’ network. Kara Owen is my Deputy Head of Mission here in Paris and I’m delighted to have her as a guest blogger today […]

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