Diplomatic Lessons 12: Tips for Diplomats and Ambassadors
These, however, are parsimonious days… The telegraph has made a difference in the position of Ambassadors. When men can and do receive instructions hourly about the smallest details, and, indeed, ask...
View ArticleAn immense cultural gift
When I first decided to apply for the job of ambassador in Vienna in March 2015, I visited the city. A wise friend gave me a book: The Hare with Amber Eyes, by British ceramicist and writer Edmund de...
View ArticleDiplomatic Lessons 11: Give something back
When I was appointed as a junior diplomat to Vienna in September 1984, my letter of appointment, signed by Her Majesty the Queen and Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe, contained the phrase: “Whereas...
View ArticleDiplomatic Lessons 10: Immerse yourself
When we arrive on Heybeliada in the Sea of Marmara, a cool breeze lures us to climb on foot to our appointment at the Greek Orthodox seminary at the summit of the island. The route leads through...
View Article100 Days to COP26
Today, COP26, the 26th UN-Climate Change Conference in Glasgow is only 100 days away. It is the last chance to keep accelerating climate change controllable. When it comes to the health of our planet,...
View ArticleDiplomatic lesson 9: build your brand
“When you’re an ambassador,” the wise ex-ambassador told me, fixing me with her steely gaze, “you’re miles from London. For visibility, you have to do something that people identify with you – build a...
View ArticleDiplomatic Lessons 8, 2006-8: embrace responsibility
When I started work as head of the Overseas Territories Department of the FCO (as it then was) in July 2006, I inherited from my predecessor three steel cabinets stuffed full of files. They covered...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 7, Berlin 2002-2006: work isn’t everything
One of the first mornings of my career break, as I dropped the kids off at school, I ran into an Embassy colleague. “How the mighty have fallen,” he said. I couldn’t think of a witty response. In 2002,...
View ArticleUpdate for UK nationals in Austria and a new Q&A session
EDIT: Thanks for all your questions. We will start publishing answers shortly. If you are a UK national who was living legally in Austria before 1 January 2021, you need to apply for a new residency...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 6, Berlin 1998-2002: Pendulums
Before our first child was born in 1992, we studied best practice in bringing up babies. Two pieces of expert advice stuck out (NOTE: DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE). First, babies should always be laid...
View ArticleProtecting our people
“My boy is back. Thanks for all the hard work that helped make this happen!” The tweet sent late morning on 4 April 2020 shows two happy faces. Father and son reunited again in the UK. It was a...
View ArticleA “Gesamtkonzept” for UK foreign and security policy
During my career in the UK’s foreign service I have experienced how British foreign policy can be both stable and flexible at the same time. Does that sound like a paradox? It is entirely logical....
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 5, 1995-98: make a difference
“September 1996, Beijing: second of three formal sessions of the Joint Liaison Group. There are 15 on each side of the long tables, with consecutive interpretation and note-takers on further tables...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 4, Russia 1991-95: have a plan, and break it
Outside “The Two Chairmen”[1], the beer was cool and fresh. My colleague raised his glass. ‘You had children a few years back,’ he said. ‘We can’t decide on the best time. What do you think?’ ‘Some...
View Article2021: a turning point for climate ambition
We are at a turning point for our planet. As the world comes back from COVID-19, it is vital that we build back greener and more resilient. This year, the UK will host the 26th UN climate change...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 3, 1987-91: go for the hard jobs
The day I started my job as Desk Officer for Budget and Finance in the European Community Department (Internal) of the Foreign Office on 2 November 1987 turned out to be a long one. In the evening, I...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 2, 1983-87: languages change everything
I was working in the personnel departments of the FCO[1] when Judith Macgregor[2], head of my section, put her head around the door and beckoned. An officer named John Everard[2] had resigned from his...
View ArticleEmbassy Q&A for UK nationals in Austria – Thursday 26 November 2020
COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. Thanks everyone. We will set to work answering them and post as many responses as possible next week. The British Embassy Vienna is running an online Q&A session on our...
View ArticleDiplomatic lessons 1: 1979-83
I’m delivering an online apprenticeship talk to staff in Vienna when someone asks me if I’ve thought of summarising everything I’ve learned in my 41-year career. ‘No,’ I say. They urge me to think...
View ArticleDebating: today’s most important skill?
On 29 September the British Embassy Vienna invited young people from all over Austria to join a Debate Workshop. Youth from Salzburg, Upper and Lower Austria, Carinthia as well as Vienna came together,...
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