Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Encyclopedia
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department
responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office
.
The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
, commonly abbreviated to "Foreign Secretary" (currently William Hague
). This position is regarded as one of the three most prestigious appointments in the Cabinet
, alongside those of Chancellor of the Exchequer
and Home Secretary
. Together with the Prime Minister
, these comprise the Great Offices of State
.
The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service since the end of August 2010 is Simon Fraser
CMG.
William Hague
is also First Secretary of State
, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State
.
Lord Green also works at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
and is lead minister on the Export Credits Guarantee Department
(ECGD).
The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern
and Northern
Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office
. The Home Office is technically the more senior.
Nineteenth century
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times
newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.
Twentieth century
During World War I
the Arab Bureau
was set up within the British Foreign Office. It was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department.
and the Foreign Office. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office
and the Colonial Office
, and the Commonwealth Relations Office had been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office
and the India Office
in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925.
took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand a review of the FCO’s strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward.
The new strategic framework consists of three core elements:
In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant
was made public by Andrew Mackinlay
. The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting:
The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million pounds over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4745467.stm
In April 2006 a new executive agency
was established, FCO Services, to provide corporate service functions. In April 2008 it moved to Trading Fund
status so it had the ability to provide similar services which it already offers to the FCO, to other government departments and even outside businesses.
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI
to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condom
s, the opening of an abortion
clinic and the blessing of a same-sex marriage
.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office occupies a building which originally provided premises for four separate government departments: the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Home Office. Construction on the building began in 1861 and finished in 1868, and it was designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott
. Its architecture is in the Italianate
style; Scott had initially envisaged a Gothic
design, but Lord Palmerston
, then Prime Minister, insisted on a classical style. English sculptors Henry Hugh Armstead
and John Birnie Philip
produced a number of allegorical figures ('Art', 'Law', 'Commerce', etc.) for the exterior.
In 1925, the Foreign Office played host to the signing of the Locarno Treaties
, aimed at reducing tension in Europe. The ceremony took place in a suite of rooms that had been designed for banqueting, which subsequently became known as the Locarno Suite. During the Second World War, the Locarno Suite's fine furnishings were removed or covered up, and it became home to a foreign office code-breaking department.
Due to increasing numbers of staff, the offices became increasingly cramped and much of the fine Victorian
interior was covered over—especially after World War II
. In the 1960s, demolition was proposed, as part of major redevelopment plan for the area drawn up by architect Sir Leslie Martin
. A subsequent public outcry prevented these proposals from ever being implemented. Instead, the Foreign Office became a Grade 1 listed building in 1970. In 1978, the Home office moved to a new building, easing overcrowding.
With a new sense of the building's historical value, it underwent a 17-year, £100 million restoration process, completed in 1997. The Locarno Suite, used as offices and storage since the Second World War, was fully restored for use in international conferences. The building is now open to the public each year over Open House Weekend. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now also the main tenant of the Old Admiralty Building, at the opposite end of Horse Guards Parade
.
are, by necessity, handled centrally from Westminster on behalf of the whole of Britain. However, the devolved administrations also maintain an overseas presence in the European Union
and the USA alongside British diplomatic missions:
European Union
USA
These offices aim to promote their regional economies and ensure that devolved interests are taken into account in British foreign policy. Devolved ministers can attend international negotiations when permitted by the British Government e.g. EU fisheries negotiations.
UK and devolved ministers meet at approximately quarterly intervals through the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe), chaired by the Foreign Secretary to "discuss matters bearing on devolved responsibilities that are under discussion within the European Union."
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. The position dealt with British relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations...
.
The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, commonly abbreviated to "Foreign Secretary" (currently William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
). This position is regarded as one of the three most prestigious appointments in the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
, alongside those of Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. Together with the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, these comprise the Great Offices of State
Great Offices of State
The Great Offices of State in the United Kingdom are the four most senior and prestigious posts in the British parliamentary system of government. They are the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary. Since 11 May 2010 these posts have been...
.
The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service since the end of August 2010 is Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser (civil servant)
Simon James Fraser CMG is a British civil servant, who currently serves as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, having served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from May 2009 to August 2010.Fraser was educated at St. Paul's...
CMG.
Ministers
The FCO Ministers are as follows:| Minister | Rank | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rt Hon William Hague William Hague William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001... MP |
Secretary of State Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State... |
Overall responsibility | |
| The Rt Hon David Lidington David Lidington David Roy Lidington PC is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been Member of Parliament for Aylesbury since 1992... MP |
Minister of State Minister for Europe |
Europe and NATO | |
| The Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford David Arthur Russell Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, PC , is a British Conservative politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport under Margaret Thatcher, Howell is now a Minister of State in the Foreign Office... |
Minister of State | Commonwealth affairs and international energy | |
| Jeremy Browne Jeremy Browne Jeremy Richard Browne is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane since 2005 and a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 2010.-Early life and education:... MP |
Minister of State | South East Asia & Far East, Caribbean, Central & South America, Australasia & Pacific, human rights, consular, migration, drugs and international crime, public diplomacy and the Olympics | |
| The Rt Hon Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint | Minister of State Minister of State for Trade and Investment UK Trade & Investment UK Trade & Investment is a UK Government department working with businesses based in the United Kingdom to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice .... |
Cross-government strategy for trade and inward investment | |
| Henry Bellingham MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Africa, United Nations, economic issues, conflict resolution and climate change | |
| Alistair Burt Alistair Burt Alistair James Hendrie Burt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire... MP |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Afghanistan & South Asia, counter terrorism & proliferation, North America, Middle East & North Africa |
| Key | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
is also First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the Government of the United Kingdom, principally regarded as purely honorific. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary...
, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State
Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....
.
Lord Green also works at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...
and is lead minister on the Export Credits Guarantee Department
Export Credits Guarantee Department
The Export Credits Guarantee Department is the United Kingdom's Export Credit Agency . It reports through to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. ECGD derives its powers from the 1991 Export and Investment Guarantees Act and undertakes its activities in accordance with a...
(ECGD).
The Foreign Office
Eighteenth centuryThe Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
and Northern
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. The Home Office is technically the more senior.
Nineteenth century
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.
Twentieth century
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the Arab Bureau
Arab Bureau
The Arab Bureau was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department during the First World War. According to a Committee of Imperial Defence paper from January 7, 1916 the Arab Bureau was established to "harmonise British political activity in the Near East...[and] keep the Foreign Office, the India...
was set up within the British Foreign Office. It was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The FCO was formed in 1968, from the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth OfficeSecretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. The position dealt with British relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations...
and the Foreign Office. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with members of the Commonwealth of Nations . The position was created out of the old position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs...
and the Colonial Office
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, and the Commonwealth Relations Office had been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...
and the India Office
India Office
The India Office was a British government department created in 1858 to oversee the colonial administration of India, i.e. the modern-day nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, and Pakistan, as well as territories in South-east and Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the east coast of Africa...
in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925.
Developments
When David MilibandDavid Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand a review of the FCO’s strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward.
The new strategic framework consists of three core elements:
- A flexible global network of staff and offices, serving the whole of the UK Government.
- Three essential services that support the British economy, British nationals abroad and managed migration for Britain. These services are delivered through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), consular teams in Britain and overseas, and the UK Border AgencyUK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
(UKBA).
- Four policy goals:
- countering terrorism and weapons proliferation and their causes
- preventing and resolving conflict
- promoting a low carbon, high-growth, global economy
- developing effective international institutions, in particular the UN and the EU.
In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant
Collinson Grant
Collinson Grant is a management consultancy firm based in Manchester. It operates in the UK, Europe and Worldwide. Collinson Grant have been employed by a wide range of large companies and organisations, most notably in the Healthcare and Public Sectors...
was made public by Andrew Mackinlay
Andrew MacKinlay
Andrew Stuart MacKinlay is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Thurrock from 1992 until he stepped down at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
. The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting:
- The Foreign Office could be "slow to act".
- Delegation is lacking within the management structure.
- Accountability was poor.
- The FCO could feasibly cut 1200 jobs.
- At least £48 million could be saved annually.
The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million pounds over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4745467.stm
In April 2006 a new executive agency
Executive agency
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
was established, FCO Services, to provide corporate service functions. In April 2008 it moved to Trading Fund
Trading Fund
A trading fund is a UK executive agency, government department or part of a department, which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973....
status so it had the ability to provide similar services which it already offers to the FCO, to other government departments and even outside businesses.
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s, the opening of an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
clinic and the blessing of a same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
.
History of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office main building
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
. Its architecture is in the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style; Scott had initially envisaged a Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
design, but Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, then Prime Minister, insisted on a classical style. English sculptors Henry Hugh Armstead
Henry Hugh Armstead
Henry Hugh Armstead was an English sculptor and illustrator, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites.-Life:...
and John Birnie Philip
John Birnie Philip
.John Birnie Philip was a notable English sculptor of the 19th century.He studied at the Government School of Design at Somerset House in London under John Rogers Herbert, and then at Herbert's own newly opened school in Maddox Street. He worked in Pugin's wood carving workshop at the Palace of...
produced a number of allegorical figures ('Art', 'Law', 'Commerce', etc.) for the exterior.
In 1925, the Foreign Office played host to the signing of the Locarno Treaties
Locarno Treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, on 5 October – 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 3 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of central and Eastern Europe sought to secure the post-war...
, aimed at reducing tension in Europe. The ceremony took place in a suite of rooms that had been designed for banqueting, which subsequently became known as the Locarno Suite. During the Second World War, the Locarno Suite's fine furnishings were removed or covered up, and it became home to a foreign office code-breaking department.
Due to increasing numbers of staff, the offices became increasingly cramped and much of the fine Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
interior was covered over—especially after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the 1960s, demolition was proposed, as part of major redevelopment plan for the area drawn up by architect Sir Leslie Martin
Leslie Martin
Sir John Leslie Martin KBE was an English Architect. A leading advocate of the International Style....
. A subsequent public outcry prevented these proposals from ever being implemented. Instead, the Foreign Office became a Grade 1 listed building in 1970. In 1978, the Home office moved to a new building, easing overcrowding.
With a new sense of the building's historical value, it underwent a 17-year, £100 million restoration process, completed in 1997. The Locarno Suite, used as offices and storage since the Second World War, was fully restored for use in international conferences. The building is now open to the public each year over Open House Weekend. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now also the main tenant of the Old Admiralty Building, at the opposite end of Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference . It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and Beating Retreat.-History:...
.
List of Foreign and Commonwealth Office home properties
- FCO Main Building, Whitehall, King Charles St, London (abbreviated to KCS by FCO staff)
- Old Admiralty Building, Whitehall, London (abbreviated to OAB by FCO staff)
- Hanslope Park, Hanslope, Milton Keynes (abbreviated to HSP by FCO staff). Location of FCO ServicesFCO ServicesFCO Services is a trading fund of the UK Government. It is accountable to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. It provides secure support services to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office , other government departments and foreign governments and bodies with which the UK has...
, HMGCCHMGCCHer Majesty's Government Communications Centre is a small group tasked to provide electronics and software to support the communication needs of the British Government. It is closely linked with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the British intelligence community.-History:It used to have a...
and Technical Security Department of the UK Secret Intelligence Service)
Devolution
International relationsInternational relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
are, by necessity, handled centrally from Westminster on behalf of the whole of Britain. However, the devolved administrations also maintain an overseas presence in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the USA alongside British diplomatic missions:
European Union
- Scotland House (Brussels)
- Wales House (Brussels)
- Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels
USA
- Scottish Affairs Office (Washington DC)
- Welsh Assembly Government External Affairs Department (New York)
- Northern Ireland Bureau (Washington DC)
These offices aim to promote their regional economies and ensure that devolved interests are taken into account in British foreign policy. Devolved ministers can attend international negotiations when permitted by the British Government e.g. EU fisheries negotiations.
UK and devolved ministers meet at approximately quarterly intervals through the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe), chaired by the Foreign Secretary to "discuss matters bearing on devolved responsibilities that are under discussion within the European Union."
See also
- Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
- Secretary of State for Commonwealth AffairsSecretary of State for Commonwealth AffairsThe position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. The position dealt with British relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations...
- Secretary of State for Commonwealth RelationsSecretary of State for Commonwealth RelationsThe Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with members of the Commonwealth of Nations . The position was created out of the old position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs...
- Secretary of State for Dominion AffairsSecretary of State for Dominion AffairsThe position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...
- Her Majesty's Diplomatic ServiceHer Majesty's Diplomatic ServiceHer Majesty's Diplomatic Service is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom, dealing with foreign affairs, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which deals with domestic affairs...
- List of heads of missions from the United Kingdom
- Department for International DevelopmentDepartment for International DevelopmentThe Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
- Stabilisation UnitStabilisation UnitThe Stabilisation Unit is an interdepartmental agency of the UK government; it is jointly owned by the FCO, the DFID, and the MOD. It aims to support fragile states and countries emerging from conflict, where close cooperation between international agencies, the military, and civilian personnel is...
- List of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom
- List of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom
- DiplomacyDiplomacyDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
- AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
- Court of St. James'sCourt of St. James'sThe Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
(to which foreign ambassadors to Britain are accredited) - Know Before You Go Campaign