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 responsibilites became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office.
Construction of the present FCO headquarters began in 1861 as headquarters for the Foreign Office and finished in 1868. They were part of a complex of government buildings including also the India Office, and later also the Home Office and the Colonial Office. The Foreign Office was designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott in classical style — although he had wished it to be Gothic — and Lord Palmerston, the then Foreign Secretary. Over the years these offices became increasingly cramped due to increasing staff numbers and much of the fine Victorian interiors was covered over, especially after World War II. In the 1960s demolition was proposed, but due to a public outcry asserting their heritage value the buildings were retained and extensively refurbished.
On December 2, 2003, the FCO announced (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&aid=1068721705067) eight strategic priorities for the next five to ten years, in its first strategy document (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/PreviewPage&AssetType=Page&ResolvePageId=FCO_OBJ_StrategyMain):
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the ForeignOffice or the FCO, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad.
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 ForeignOffice 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 damning revelation is contained in the resignation letter of Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a legal adviser at the ForeignOffice, in which she said the war would be a "crime of aggression".
During her tenure, Ms Wilmshurst led the UK delegation to set up the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, served as legal counselor to the UK's mission to the UN, and gave evidence for the ForeignOffice to the House of Commons International Development Committee on the legality of sanctions.
She resigned in March 2003 after defying her political superiors in the ForeignOffice by stating her belief that joining the US invasion of Iraq would constitute a violation of international law.
Feeds |
Contact