2nd March 2021
London, UK
Marking the 90th birthday of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Gill Bennett recalls how the late Tony Bishop, FCO Russian specialist, recorded Gorbachev’s first talks with Margaret Thatcher, when he acted as interpreter. ‘For heaven’s sake, try and find me a young Russian!’ This, according to Tony Bishop, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) principal […]
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19th November 2020
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Dayton. The very name evokes both peace and division. This 21 November marks the 25th anniversary of the accord secured in Dayton, Ohio, and then signed on 14 December in Paris. How do we mark this moment? The agreement reached on that distant air-force base has had a profound impact on the shaping of Bosnia […]
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30th October 2020
Belgrade, Serbia
Diplomats move house more than most people. We move between countries every two, three or four years. We move backwards and forwards to and from our own countries. Even within our home countries jobs in our foreign ministries may be spread across more than one city. I have lived in six countries outside the UK. Some of my colleagues will have […]
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11th July 2019
London, UK
Last year was the deadliest year on record for journalists. UNESCO records suggest that at least 99 journalists were killed, 348 imprisoned and 60 held hostage. That is why, this week, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has jointly hosted with the Canadian government a major international conference in London, putting media freedom at the forefront […]
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29th April 2019
Vienna, Austria
Last week, for the second year running, the British Embassy Vienna took part in the “Vienna Girlsday”. I certainly learned a lot. The aim of the “Girlsday” (in German it is called “Töchtertag” or “daughters’ day”) is to introduce young women to areas of work where women are under-represented. In the UK in 2019 we […]
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4th April 2019
Stockholm, Sweden
Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Alliance was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War by a group of European and North American countries, united by their desire to create a lasting peace in Europe. Much has changed in the world since 1949. Security threats are more diverse […]
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29th March 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
Here in Geneva yesterday we celebrated the publication earlier this month of the UK’s first ever report on national implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL). Alongside UK Ambassador Julian Braithwaite and Michael Meyer (Head of International Law at the British Red Cross), I spoke at a reception for IHL experts from permanent missions and international […]
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7th January 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
It is fair to say that the UK and Argentina have had their differences. Yet at the end of 2018 the Permanent Missions of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom came together, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to commemorate the completion of a joint humanitarian project to […]
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15th November 2018
Stockholm, Sweden
Historically Ukraine has been described as a borderland – to the East, this has meant the country on the edge of the Russian Empire, and to the West, this has often meant the country on the periphery of Europe. But in the 21st century, Ukraine is a sovereign country at the very heart of a […]
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7th August 2017
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Normally, we go back to the UK for a few weeks during the summer, to catch up with family and friends. But this will be our last full summer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as I’m due to leave in August next year. So this year, we decided to spend some time discovering some new parts […]
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