This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Avatar photo

Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

7th September 2014

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire in Canberra and Melbourne

When I was a kid our local MP in the beautiful constituency of East Devon was a remote figure, very distant from our lives. Last week his successor stayed at my Residence in Canberra. Hugo Swire, the FCO Minister of State whose responsibilities include Asia, was here for a very busy couple of days.

In Canberra he met Ministers, MPs and officials to discuss a range of foreign policy issues, including Ukraine, Iraq/Syria and Asia. He outlined the FCO’s network shift to boost our staff numbers around Asia, reflecting our important economic and security interests there. With so many troubled spots in the world at the moment, it’s vital that Britain and Australia work closely together.

In Melbourne he promoted our trade and investment interests. He visited the BAE Systems shipyard – the naval maritime sector currently offers some excellent opportunities for collaboration. He met a number of financial institutions that are big investors in the UK, to encourage them to do even more. He addressed the Chamber of Commerce and launched a new British Business Network.

He also found time to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial, and have a round table with representative of cultural institutions and creative industries, to discuss their cooperation with the UK.

Constituents sometimes wonder what their MPs are doing when they travel overseas. In my experience, we always give our FCO ministers packed programmes and they work very hard indeed. I’ve reported that back to East Devon.

UK Minister Hugo Swire (left) with Josh Frydenberg MP (centre) and HE Paul Madden.
UK Minister Hugo Swire (left) with Josh Frydenberg MP (centre) and HE Paul Madden.

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.