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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

8th June 2012

Scotland 9, Wallabies 6

At the Scotland v Australia rugby match in Newcastle
At the Scotland v Australia rugby match in Newcastle

In Newcastle, New South Wales, watching Scotland play Australia at Rugby. I don’t think I’ve ever attended a sports match played in such adverse weather conditions: a massive storm brought high gusting winds and driving rain. All the points came from penalties, and to the enormous satisfaction of their band of dedicated followers, a gritty Scotland ran out 9:6 victors.

At the Scotland v Australia rugby match in Newcastle
At the Scotland v Australia rugby match in Newcastle

It was the first time they’d won in Australia for thirty years. And this was the first time Newcastle had hosted a test match: the ground is normally home to the Newcastle Knights – in the plethora of competing codes in Australia, this is a Rugby League rather than Union city.

I spent a useful day in Newcastle, which someone described as “the nearest thing to an English northern industrial city in Australia”. It has a proud history as one of the oldest settlements in NSW and the city centre contains many fine Victorian buildings. It grew rich on the back of the enormous coal deposits in the Hunter Valley, which remain a huge source of prosperity today.

I toured the Port and learned that over 90% of its trade is exports and over 90% of that is coal, and learned of its big expansion plans which offer interesting opportunities for UK companies. I met the Lord Mayor and the Regional Development board and discussed the important role which British resources and defence companies play in the region. And I lunched with the British-born Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University, a dynamic institution which is keen to develop relationships with UK universities.

Having spent much of my working life overseas, I’ve often missed out on great events going on back in the UK. But I can’t think of anything I’ve ever been sorrier to miss than the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I stayed up into the small hours each night, watching it on TV: the River Pageant, the Concert, the Procession all looked magnificent.

There was massive coverage in the Australian media. And it was telling to see how much Australian involvement there was in London, from the Surf Lifesavers on the Thames to Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Rolf Harris and Kylie at the Buckingham Palace Concert.

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.