Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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, commonly abbreviated to Foreign Secretary. This position is traditionally regarded as one of the three most prestigious non-Prime Ministerial appointments in the cabinet, 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 FCO Services 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.

Current ministers

Entrance to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Ministers at the FCO, as of 5 May 2006, are as follows:
* Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - The Rt Hon. Margaret Beckett, MP
** Minister of State for Europe - The Rt Hon. Geoff Hoon, MP
** Minister of State for Trade - The Rt Hon. Ian McCartney, MP
** Minister of State - Dr Kim Howells
** Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Lord Triesman of Tottenham

The current Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service is Sir Peter Ricketts, a senior civil servant.

History of the department

The department's origins

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 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.

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

* Sir Peter Ricketts 2006-present
* Sir Michael Jay 2002-2006
* Sir John Kerr 1997-2002
* Sir John Coles 1994-1997
* Sir David Gillmore 1991-1994
* Sir Patrick Wright 1986-1991
* Sir Antony Acland 1982-1986
* Captain Sir Michael Palliser 1975-1982
* Sir Thomas Brimelow 1973-1975
* Colonel Sir Denis Greenhill 1969-1973
* Sir Paul Gore-Booth 1965-1969
* Sir Harold Caccia 1962-1965
* Sir Frederick Hoyer Miller 1957-1962
* Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick 1953-1957
* Sir William Strang 1949-1953
* Sir Orme Sargent 1946-1949
* The Honourable Sir Alexander Cadogan 1938-1946
* Sir Robert Vansittart 1930-1938
* Sir Ronald Lindsay 1928-1930
* Sir William Tyrrell 1925-1928
* Sir Eyre Crowe 1920-1925
* The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst 1916-1920
* Sir Arthur Nicolson 1910-1916
* The Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge 1906-1910
* Sir Thomas Sanderson 1894-1906
* Sir Philip Currie 1889-1893
* Sir Julian Pauncefote 1882-1889
* The Lord Tenterden 1873-1882
* Sir Edmund Hammond 1854-1873
* Henry Unwin Addington 1842-1854
* John Backhouse 1827-1842
* Sir George Hammond 1807-1809
* Sir George Hammond 1795-1806

Recent developments

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

# A world safer from global terrorism and weapons of mass destruction # Protection of the UK from illegal immigration, drug trafficking and other international crime.# An international system based on the rule of law, which is better able to resolve disputes and prevent conflicts.# An effective EU in a secure neighbourhood.# Promotion of UK economic interests in an open and expanding global economy.# Sustainable development, underpinned by democracy, good governance and human rights.# Security of UK and global energy supplies.# Security and good governance of the British Overseas Territories.

In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public by Andrew Mackinlay. The report criticised the management structure of the department, noting that:
* The Foreign Office could be "slow to act".
* Delegation is lacking within the management structure.
* Accountability was poor.
* 1200 jobs could feasibly be cut.
* 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. [1]

History of the building

The western or park end of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's building in 1866. It was then occupied by the Foreign and India Offices, while the Home and Colonial Offices occupied the Whitehall end.

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 the then Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston insisted on a classical style.

Due to increasing numbers of staff, the offices became increasingly cramped throughout the years and much of the fine Victorian interior was covered over—especially after World War II. In the 1960s, demolition was proposed; the building was eventually retained and extensively refurbished after public outcry which asserted the building's historical value, and the building is open to the public each year on Open House Weekend. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now also the main tenant of the Admiralty Extension building, at the opposite end of Horse Guards Parade.

External links

*Official website
*Official website of FCO Services
*Official departmental website
*Official FCO/Immigration Service website
*[https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk Official website of UK Trade and Investment]

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Encyclopedia BETA

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