20th September 2019
Beirut, Lebanon
This time last year was one of the highlights of my career – presenting Queen Elizabeth’s letter to President Aoun that nominated me as Ambassador. The anniversary has allowed reflection on the year: for Lebanon, and for the UK. My first 12 months in Lebanon has been remarkable. Rolls Royce and MEA signed our largest […]
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7th May 2016
Beirut, Lebanon
Winston Churchill famously declared in 1947 that “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” He was speaking from the floor of the House of Commons, the parliamentary chamber reserved for any “common” man or woman elected to represent the people of Britain. […]
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14th November 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
Almost every week in Beirut is a rollercoaster. Every Monday morning we set out what we hope to achieve, and then try not to be buffeted by McMillan’s famous ‘events, dear boy, events’. Here are ten of the things we did last week: Held three Remembrance Day services, in Tripoli, Beirut and Saida. There are […]
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4th September 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
I’ve posted before about Naked Diplomacy and why diplomats must ride the digital tiger. Last week I was scheduled to join Foreign Minister Bildt for a Q&A session on innovative diplomacy with Sweden’s ambassadors. I was looking forward to learning from them, as the first Foreign Ministry to put all their envoys on Twitter. But […]
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20th May 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
It is good to see the waves of British visitors in Lebanon this Summer. British Airways are laying on extra flights, the Hay Festival has just been, and we have several brands – Jack Jones, Marks and Spencer, Virgin Radio, Ted Baker – opening in the coming weeks. This is exactly the relationship we want […]
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10th January 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
This week I was asked to speak at USEK, on ‘How Does Lebanon Succeed in the 21st Century?”. Tough audience, tough subject. Especially on the first day back, and after a night of epic storms (during which my sons had taken it in turns to wake me to tell me how frightened they were). In […]
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10th October 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Eisenhower said that if you can’t fix a problem, you should make it bigger. Lebanon is trying to fix a big problem – preventing the violence from Syria tipping it into instability. So far, it is doing well, and as I’ve argued, should not be fatalist about external factors (mindsoupblog). But for a country that […]
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7th September 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Lebanon tends to be high on our August watchlist. This year there was no major single crisis, but five developments raised anxiety. Israel accused Hizballah of involvement in the Bourgas terrorist attack. A pro-Assad former Minister was arrested. Kidnappings returned in a dangerous 48 hours. Some Gulf countries told their nationals to leave. The Tripoli […]
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16th March 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Yesterday, I joined an inspirational conference on reconciliation and coexistence, led by interfaith NGO Adyan. It reminded me of the great Margaret Mead line – ‘Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.’ Beirut is of course the […]
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7th March 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Last week was full of surprises. On Sunday night, Valerie Amos, head of UN humanitarian affairs, arrived at short notice. I had worked closely with her several years ago when she was a Minister for Africa, so it was great to reminisce. But more importantly, we were able to discuss how best to persuade the […]
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