10th December 2015
London, UK
I gave a radio interview yesterday. Unexpectedly I was asked why I had joined the British Diplomatic Service 25 years ago. In the midst of my off-the-cuff answer I found myself talking about the opportunity to serve, the opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives and the chance to make a small contribution […]
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17th August 2015
One of the quirks of being posted to the Holy See is that it is one of the few in the world where Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission regularly have to wear diplomatic uniforms. It comes as a surprise to many that the Foreign Office has a uniform at all – unless they had […]
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12th August 2015
London, UK
Taking a selfie on stage at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) leadership conference in 2015 left us thinking perhaps we weren’t that photogenic! But, what we were was successful. After months of rehearsals, planning and speaking with some of the most senior voices across the office we had delivered a high impact, fun, energetic […]
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1st July 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
This is a networked world. And yet there are few genuinely global networks out there. By that I mean networks that have a capacity to operate globally, co-ordinated centrally but operating in capillary fashion, horizontally in a radial pattern as well as vertically in a hub and spoke model. One of the reasons why we […]
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3rd February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The new Holy See Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, is well-named. When earlier this week Msgr. Gallagher met the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, the Deputy Secretary, the Maltese Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, reminded us that the name Gallagher is the anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Gallchobhair, meaning “foreign help” or […]
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13th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The title may have startled you. It was Pope Innocent III, back in the 13th century, who declared that as ‘Vicar of Christ’ the Pope had received from God “not only the universal church but the whole world to govern”. Even at the time, secular rulers begged to differ, leading to centuries of competition for […]
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11th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Europe is surrounded by an “arc of instability”, in the words of Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary. Bulgaria, responsible for one of the EU’s key external borders, and on the land route to Syria, is in a key position. It is vital that we, Bulgaria’s allies, step up our support. It is just as […]
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3rd September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I called on Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this morning to touch base before she headed off to the NATO Summit in Newport, Wales, later this week. Australia has worked very closely with NATO and played an important role as the largest non-NATO contributor in the Afghanistan campaign. This relationship will not end with the campaign […]
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17th July 2014
Washington DC, USA
Yesterday marked 50 days to go until we host the NATO Wales Summit. In Parliament, the UK Minister’s for Europe, David Lidington, addressed Parliament on preparations ahead of the Summit, which will be the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in the UK. Over 24,000 room nights have been reserved in over […]
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12th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I’m not a fan of hot air. Although when you’re floating in a balloon over Australia’s capital city Canberra, and it’s the only thing keeping you up there, you’re rather glad of it. The balloon was emblazoned with the hashtag #TimeToAct. We were drawing attention to the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict, […]
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