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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

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9th September 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Cameron calls to congratulate new Australian PM, Tony Abbott

Within minutes of Tony Abbott winning the election on Saturday night, British PM David Cameron called him to offer warm congratulations. He talked about the very strong ties between Britain and Australia. PM Abbott, born in London to Australian parents who were living there temporarily, and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, agreed on the importance […]

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6th September 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Accelerating cultural collaboration

I announced this year’s participants in the British Council’s Accelerator programme in Melbourne yesterday. The initiative takes up-and-coming indigenous cultural leaders from Australia to the UK, to work with mentors and peers. Previous years’ winners have talked eloquently about the personal development which they gained from participating. We were serenaded at the event by the […]

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1st September 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Australia votes

Australia goes to the polls on 7 September. The key battleground is the sprawling suburbs of West Sydney, which contain 10% of Australia’s population and a number of marginal seats. I spent Saturday there to get a feel for the campaign on the ground. You quickly pick up the electoral buzz from the campaign posters […]

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28th August 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

A week in an Aboriginal community

Indigenous Australians have been on this continent for around 40,000 years. So it was a great privilege to spend 5 days in the Aboriginal community of Hopevale, in Cape York in the far north of Queensland. My principal impression was the warmth of the people I met. Each evening a different family invited me to […]

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12th August 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

UK economy returns to sustainable growth

That was the principal message of Permanent Secretary at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, Martin Donnelly, when he visited Australia last week. He said that the UK’s GDP growth was expected to reach around 1% this year and perhaps 2% next year. Australian economists and business people he met shared this positive assessment. […]

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30th July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Should’ve gone to Specsavers

“Should’ve gone to Specsavers”. Millions of Australians have. Last week they were voted Australian Retailer of the Year and Retail Employer of the Year. A remarkable success story for a company which has grown to nearly 300 stores in just five years since coming to Australia. I visited their Asia Pacific HQ in Melbourne to […]

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26th July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Man U and Liverpool bring the “great game” to Australia

Getting to watch Man U and Liverpool matches in the same week would be a treat even in England. Here in Australia it was a joy. And a GREAT chance to use sport to promote Britain a year on from the London Olympics. Football, or soccer as they call it here, is the weakest of […]

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22nd July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Green school in Bali – the world’s greenest school

Imagine a school where all the classrooms are constructed of sustainable bamboo, the kids help to grow their own food and the whole curriculum has a sustainable theme. The toilets are biodegradable. That’s the Green School in Bali Indonesia, brainchild of celebrity jeweller and eco-pioneer John Hardy. Last week we took a brief holiday from […]

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10th July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Still pretty sunny in Western Australia

There has been much talk of the resources investment boom passing its peak. But in Perth things still feel pretty good. I called on Premier Colin Barnett, re-elected in a handsome victory since my last visit, and some of his ministers. I attended the Australian Gas Technology Conference and Expo and met a number of […]

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8th July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

A great weekend for the Poms

There are not many weekends nowadays when I’m up until 2.00am two nights in a row. Well actually none. But this weekend was the exception, with the Lions/Wallabies end of tour party at Sydney’s Opera House and Andy Murray’s Wimbledon final. The Wallabies victory in Melbourne, levelling the series at 1:1, had set things up […]

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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.