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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

7th December 2012

Defence engagements

Yesterday I went to hear the Chief of Army, Lieut. Gen. David Morrison, launch a book by one of his officers, our friend Malcolm McGregor.

The book “An Indian Summer of Cricket” is about a love for cricket and for the army. It also tells the story of his brave gender reassignment over the last year while the book was being written. Malcolm is now Cate. Her book launch was a moving event, which showed the modern Australian army at its most compassionate.

I’ve had quite a busy week on the Defence side. The EU ambassadors collectively met Secretary for Defence, Dennis Richardson, who had recently moved over from running the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We had a wide ranging discussion of Australia’s security challenges, and the international relationships which underpin its response. And I had dinner with Australia’s Chief of Defence Staff, General David Hurley, and some of his colleagues at his historic residence, Bridges House at the Duntroon Royal Military College. The house is named after an Australian military hero who died at Gallipoli.

The previous week we had been hosting Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, the UK government’s special Envoy for Climate and Energy Security. He was here to discuss the impact of Climate Change on security.

We have done a lot of work on this in Britain, which he was able to share with a range of interlocutors from government, the military and academia.

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.