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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of FCDO Human Rights UK in Australia

27th July 2011

CHOGM preparations in Perth, Magna Carta in Adelaide

A busy few days, with a trip to Perth to recce for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting which will take place in October. Hosting a meeting for 54 heads of government and HM The Queen is quite a tall order, but we were impressed with the professionalism of Australian plans. It is shaping up to be an excellent event in a beautiful city.

Whilst in Perth I conducted a Civil Partnership registration at our Consular Office there. It was the first time I had done this and it was an enjoyable experience. Paul and Graham had been together for 19 years and were delighted to be finally making if official, and Paul’s parents back in Wolverhampton were able to follow the event live thanks to the wonders of Skype.

Then I flew to Adelaide where Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was giving the Magna Carta lecture. This is an annual event organised by the British High Commission where we ask a leading Briton or Australian to talk about how the values enshrined in the 1215 charter, often described as the greatest constitutional document of all time, are relevant to the current day. He spoke powerfully about his experiences in the Horn of Africa, from where he’d just returned, and about the position of indigenous people in Australian society. We had a very impressive audience, including the Governor and Premier of South Australia and the Lord Mayor, some senior elders from the local indigenous community, and 400 students from local schools and universities. It was one of Kevin Rudd’s last public engagements before going into hospital for heart surgery and we all wish him well for a speedy recovery.

About Paul Madden

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017. He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia…

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017.

He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia until February 2015. Prior to this he was British High Commissioner in Singapore from 2007-2011.

A career diplomat, he was previously Managing Director at UK Trade and Investment (2004-2006), responsible for co-ordinating and
implementing international trade development strategies to support
companies across a wide range of business sectors.

As Assistant Director of Information at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (2003-2004) he was responsible for public diplomacy policy,
including managing the FCO funding of the BBC World Service, the British
Council and the Chevening Scholarships programme. He led the team
responsible for the award-winning UK pavilion at the Aichi Expo in Japan
2005.

He was Deputy High Commissioner in Singapore from 2000-2003 and has
also served in Washington (1996-2000) and Tokyo (1988-92). Between
1992-96 he worked on EU enlargement and Environmental issues at the FCO
in London.

Before joining FCO he worked at the Department of Trade and Industry
(1980-87) on a range of industrial sectors and trade policy, including
two years as a minister’s Private Secretary.

He has an MA in Economic Geography from Cambridge University, an MBA
from Durham University, studied Japanese at London University’s School
of Oriental and African Studies, and is a Fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society. His first book, Raffles: Lessons in Business
Leadership, was published in 2003.

Married to Sarah, with three children, he was born in 1959, in Devon.

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adelaide carta CHOGM magna perth Politics