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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, seen from St. James’s Park
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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, seen from St. James’s Park

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the Foreign Office (or the FCO), is the United Kingdom government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which is commonly abbreviated to Foreign Secretary. This position is traditionally regarded as one of the three most prestigious appointments in the cabinet below that of Prime Minister, alongside those of Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary.

From April 2006 a new executive agency was established, [FCO Services], to provide the essential services which keep the main FCO in operation. It is hoped that by 2007 this will acquire trading fund status and be able to provide similar services which it already offers to the FCO, to other government departments and even outside businesses.

Contents

Current ministers

Entrance to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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Entrance to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Ministers at the FCO, as of 5 May 2006, are as follows:

The Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service is presently Sir Michael Jay (a senior civil servant).

History of the department

The department's origins

The Foreign Office's Grand Staircase in 1868.
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The Foreign Office's Grand Staircase in 1868.

The FCO was formed in 1968 out of the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office, the Commonwealth Office having been formed only in 1966 by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office. 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.

The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern and Northern Departments, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their respective geographical 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.

List of Permanent Under Secretaries of State

Recent developments

On December 2, 2003, the FCO [announced] eight strategic priorities for the next five to ten years, in its first [strategy document]:

  1. A world safer from global terrorism and weapons of mass destruction
  2. Protection of the UK from illegal immigration, drug trafficking and other international crime.
  3. An international system based on the rule of law, which is better able to resolve disputes and prevent conflicts.
  4. An effective EU in a secure neighbourhood.
  5. Promotion of UK economic interests in an open and expanding global economy.
  6. Sustainable development, underpinned by democracy, good governance and human rights.
  7. Security of UK and global energy supplies.
  8. Security and good governance of the British Overseas Territories.
In August 2005 a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant which criticised the management structure of the department was made public by Andrew Mackinlay. The report noted that:

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. [link]

History of the building

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office occupies a building which originally provided premises for four separate government departments: the Foreign, India, Colonial and Home Offices. Construction began in 1861 and finished in 1868. It was designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott in an Italianate style. He had wished it to be Gothic, but the Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, insisted on a classical style.

Over the years the offices became increasingly cramped due to staff numbers and much of the fine Victorian interior was covered over, especially after World War II. In the 1960s demolition was proposed, but due to a public outcry asserting its heritage value the building was retained and extensively refurbished. It is open to the public each year on Open House Weekend. The Foreign and Commonwealth is now also the main tenant of the Admiralty Extension building at the opposite end of Horse Guards Parade.

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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