18th May 2016
The international activism and high profile of Pope Francis has generated renewed interest in the nature and practice of the Holy See’s diplomacy. Just in the last week, the Pope visited the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy – the papal diplomatic college – to meet the young priests preparing there to take up their role as a […]
15th August 2014 London, UK
On the first floor of the Foreign Office main building, civil servants used to pull down maps from a burr walnut cabinet to pore over them and discuss the latest news from our embassies. Whilst the original maps have long ago been shipped off to The National Archives, the Foreign Office’s love of a good […]
7th May 2014
80 Ambassadors making the acquaintance of kangaroos, koalas and wombats. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop certainly knows how to show the diplomatic corps a good time. The get to know you session with a collection of iconic Australian marsupials was a fitting end to a fascinating trip to her home state of Western Australia. We had […]
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4th May 2012
I’m back in the UK for the annual Leadership Conference that brings together all our ambassadors from around the world, to be updated on the policy and corporate management priorities which will focus our work over the coming year. The strongest message was the importance of the Prosperity agenda, the work that our overseas FCO and UKTI […]
20th December 2011 Beirut, Lebanon
The theme of last week’s International Human Rights Day was the role that social media can play in highlighting and challenging human rights abuses. So I was excited to be invited to take part in the American University of Beirut’s conference on Social Media Changing Lives, put together by the excellent @mhijazi and his team. […]
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7th March 2011
I’m giving a press conference at a seminar for young eastern European mayors at the Ukrainian provincial town of Vinnitsa when a journalist leans forward. Why, he asks, are there are so few women amongst the mayors invited to the event? After the organisers have explained that they had to invite young mayors from those […]