3rd September 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
With a formidable to-do list for the world’s leaders, the 2014 NATO Summit takes place in Wales on 4/5 September. This will be the largest ever gathering of international leaders in Britain. In preparation, some diplomats have even been learning Welsh (Matthew Barzun clip). Having been to a few, I’ve sometimes been sceptical about the […]
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7th February 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
Last Saturday, twenty Lebanese stars performed together in a powerful rejection of divisive politics and sectarianism. Pop idols, divas, comedians, sportsmen, rappers and actors put on the best possible display of the real Lebanon – talented, resilient, and proud of their country. It was an extraordinary night. The charismatic Anthony Touma got the largest screams, […]
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23rd December 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
A year ago, I shared elements of my annual review of the year in Lebanon. One year on, we’re still running to stand still. I’ve learnt three rules about diplomacy here. Never think you can understand Lebanon. Never think you can predict Lebanon. Never think you can fix Lebanon. However, breaking at least one of these […]
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21st November 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Tomorrow I’ll hand a letter from Prime Minister Cameron to President Sleiman, with formal congratulations on Lebanon’s 70th anniversary. The wonderful people at Rag Mag also asked me to write an open letter to mark the day. This is a tough and precarious assignment, and it will annoy or anger some people. But I’ve had […]
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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28th October 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
For my generation, Record Breakers was TV gold. We would watch in wonder as world records were broken and Norris McWhirter demonstrated extraordinary knowledge of even the most obscure stats. At the end of every show, Roy Castle would sing the theme song – ‘If you want to be the best, if you want to […]
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9th October 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
A former British Ambassador here was asked at the end of a radio interview what he would like for Christmas. Thinking it typical Lebanese generosity but not wanting to be too greedy, he gave a modest reply. Listening to the broadcast later, he was shocked to hear several envoys asked the same question. The US […]
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8th February 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Diplomats hate making predictions. Churchill once said that you could ignore every other page of Foreign Office advice, because it tended to be in the form of ‘on the one hand’ and ‘on the other hand’. The files are full of pre-election telegrams that hedge their bets. There are good reasons for this. We don’t […]
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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20th December 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
Each year, many ambassadors send Ministers a review of trends in their country, and thoughts on what lies ahead. To share the more candid elements would be a bit of digital transparency too far, but here is a redacted version of what I have just sent. You can read the rest when it is released […]
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