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

Peter Westmacott

Former Ambassador to the United States of America

Part of UK in USA

19th January 2012 Washington DC, USA

An honour and a privilege: Serving at the heart of the special relationship


It is an immense privilege to return to Washington as British Ambassador, and a great honour to serve at the heart of a relationship that is not just special, but – as our respective leaders have said – essential.

I begin my assignment this week at the start of what will be a very exciting year for both the United States and the United Kingdom. Front pages and talk shows here are filled with coverage of November’s impending elections. Back in London, preparations are well underway for the celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and for this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. As hundreds of thousands of athletes and spectators arrive in London, we look forward to showcasing all that Britain has to offer tourists and businessmen alike, and to attracting new investments to create a legacy of prosperity that will endure long after the Games have concluded.

I last served here from 1993 to 1997, as Counsellor for Political and Public Affairs. Much has changed since then. The Internet has grown from a novelty to an ever-present necessity for communication and commerce. 24 hour news cycles have dramatically shortened response times while increasing the speed at which stories – good and bad – travel round the world. China’s share of the global economy has tripled. Our hope for a permanent post-Soviet peace has given way to a permanent vigilance against unpredictable acts of terrorism and extremism.

Through those changes, the strength, closeness and primacy of our special relations have endured, under-pinned by our intertwined interests, our common history and our shared values of human dignity and individual liberty.

I have great confidence in our shared future – confidence that comes from knowing that Britain and America remain steadfast and indispensable partners, and that both countries possess the inner resolve that is so essential when times are tough – as they are today. We are each other’s largest investors and foreign employers. The trillion dollars we have invested in one another’s economies supports nearly one million jobs on each side of the Atlantic. President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron described our incomparable economic partnership best: “We have proud traditions of out-innovating and out-building the rest of the world – and of doing it together.”

Over the last hundred years, our armed forces have fought fascism, communism and now the forces of terrorism and religious bigotry. Nowhere has the courage of our servicemen been more vital over the past decade
than in Afghanistan. We continue our work – along with our many allies and in support of the Afghan people – to build an Afghanistan which is able to maintain its own security and prevent the return of terrorist groups.

I am honoured that, as my country’s 48th envoy to Washington, I will have the chance to play my own modest part in upholding the British-American partnership that promotes our values, common prosperity and mutual security.

About Peter Westmacott

Sir Peter Westmacott, KCMG, LVO was the British Ambassador to the United States from January 2012 to January 2016. He was born in the village of Edington, Somerset in the…

Sir Peter Westmacott, KCMG, LVO was the British Ambassador to the United States from January 2012 to January 2016.

He was born in the village of Edington, Somerset in the South West of
England in December 1950. He was educated at New College Oxford and
joined the Diplomatic Service in 1972.

After a year in the Middle East Department, and Persian language
training, Ambassador Westmacott was posted to Tehran in 1974. In 1978 he
was loaned to the European Commission in Brussels, before being posted
to Paris from 1980 to 1984.
After 3 years as Chief of Staff to successive Ministers of State in
London, he went to Ankara in 1987, for the first of his two diplomatic
postings to Turkey.
From 1990 to 1993, he was Deputy Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales.
From 1993 to 1997, Ambassador Westmacott was Counsellor for Political
and Public Affairs in Washington, before returning to the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office as Director, Americas.
He joined the Board of the FCO in 2000 as Deputy Under Secretary and returned to Ankara as Ambassador in 2002.
In 2007 he moved to Paris where he served as Ambassador to France until the end of 2011.
Peter married Susie Nemazee in 2001. Between them they have four grown children, Oliver, Laura, Rupert and Safieh.