The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the
ministry of foreign affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
and a
ministerial department of the
government of the United Kingdom
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. .
The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the
Department for International Development
The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
(DFID). The FCO was itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the
Commonwealth Office. The department in its various forms is responsible for representing and promoting British interests worldwide.
The head of the FCDO is the
secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly abbreviated to "foreign secretary". This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the
Cabinet – the
Great Offices of State – alongside those of
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
and
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
.
David Lammy was appointed Foreign Secretary on 5 July 2024 following the
2024 general election.
The FCDO is managed day-to-day by a
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
, the
permanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, who also acts as the Head of
His Majesty's Diplomatic Service.
Sir Oliver Robbins took office as permanent under-secretary on 8 January 2025.
The expenditure, administration and policy of the FCDO are scrutinised by the
Foreign Affairs Select Committee
The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
The Foreign, Commonwea ...
.
Responsibilities
According to the FCDO website, the department's key responsibilities (as of 2020) are as follows:
* Safeguarding the UK's national security by countering terrorism and weapons proliferation, and working to reduce conflict.
* Building the UK's prosperity by increasing exports and investment, opening markets, ensuring access to resources, and promoting sustainable global growth.
* Supporting British nationals around the world through modern and efficient consular services.
In addition to the above responsibilities, the FCDO is responsible for the
British Overseas Territories
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
, which had previously been administered from 1782 to 1801 by the
Home Office
The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
, from 1801 to 1854 by the
War and Colonial Office, from 1854 to 1966 by the
Colonial Office, from 1966 to 1968 by the
Commonwealth Office, from 1968 to 2020 by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and since 2020 by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (this did not include ''protectorates'', which fell under the purview of the
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* United ...
, or to
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
, which had been administered by the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
until 1858, and thereafter by the
India Office
The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...
). This arrangement has been subject to criticism in the UK and in the overseas territories. For example, the
chief minister of Anguilla,
Victor Banks, said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
, so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect". There have been numerous suggestions on ways to improve the relationship between the overseas territories and the UK. Suggestions have included setting up a dedicated department to handle relations with the overseas territories, similarly to the French
Ministry of the Overseas, or alternatively the absorption of the Overseas Territories Directorate (OTD) in the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...
, thus affording the overseas territories with better connections to the centre of government.
Ministers
The FCDO ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:
History
Eighteenth century
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 senior.
Nineteenth century
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.
Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included:
Henry Southern,
Valentine Chirol, Harold Nicolson, and
Robert Bruce Lockhart.
Twentieth century
During the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
Arab Bureau
The Arab Bureau was a section of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Cairo Intelligence Department established in 1916 during the World War I, First World War, and closed in 1920, whose purpose was the collection and dissemination ...
was set up within the British Foreign Office as a section of the ''Cairo Intelligence Department''. During the early
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
an important department was the
Information Research Department (IRD) which was used to create propaganda against socialist and anti-colonial movements. In 1922 after the end of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the recently created
Government Code and Cypher School moved from the
Admiralty to the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Office hired its first woman diplomat,
Monica Milne, in 1946.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1968–2020)
The FCO was formed on 17 October 1968, from the merger of the short-lived
Commonwealth Office and the
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* United ...
. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the
Commonwealth Relations Office and the
Colonial Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office having 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 and Commonwealth Office held responsibility for
international development
International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...
issues between 1970 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1997.
The National Archives website contains a government timeline to show the departments responsible for foreign affairs from 1945.
Under New Labour (1997–2010)
From 1997, international development became the responsibility of the separate
Department for International Development
The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
.
When
David 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 & Investment (UKTI), consular teams in Britain and overseas, and
UK Visas and Immigration.
* 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
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.
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 could be "slow to act".
* Delegation is lacking within the management structure.
* Accountability was poor.
* The FCO could feasibly cut 1,200 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 over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations.
In 2009, Gordon Brown created the position of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the FCO. The first science adviser was
David Clary.
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Tele ...
'' obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded"
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...
s, the opening of an
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
clinic and the blessing of a
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
.
Coalition and Conservatives (2010–2020)
In 2012, the Foreign Office was criticised by
Gerald Steinberg of the Jerusalem-based research institute
NGO Monitor, saying that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development provided more than £500,000 in funding to
Palestinian NGOs which he said "promote political attacks on Israel". In response, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said "we are very careful about who and what we fund. The objective of our funding is to support efforts to achieve a
two-state solution. Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees."
In September 2012, the FCO and the
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticised for further diminishing the UK's influence in Europe.
In 2011, the then Foreign Secretary,
William Hague, announced the government's intention to open a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network. As such, eight new embassies and six new consulates were opened around the world.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2020–2022)
On 16 June 2020, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
announced the merger of the FCO with the Department for International Development. This was following the decision in the
February 2020 cabinet reshuffle to give cross-departmental briefs to all junior ministers in the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office. The merger, which created the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, took place in September 2020 with a stated aim of ensuring that
aid is spent "in line with the UK's priorities overseas". The merger was criticised by three former prime ministers –
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
,
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
and
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
– with Cameron saying that it would mean "less respect for the UK overseas".
The chief executive of
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide.
The organization raises money to imp ...
, Kevin Watkins, called it "reckless, irresponsible and a dereliction of UK leadership" that "threatens to reverse hard-won gains in child survival, nutrition and poverty".

In November 2021, it was reported that an
employment tribunal had ruled that the FCDO had racially discriminated against Sonia Warner, a black senior civil servant, by treating her unfairly in a disciplinary process.
On 21 February 2022, UK Minister for Africa
Vicky Ford announced a new £74 million financial package to support women entrepreneurs across Nigeria, who own businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In 2022, Maria Bamieh settled an employment claim against the Foreign Office for more than £400,000 shortly before her claim was due to be heard by an employment tribunal. She said that the Foreign Office failed to support her when she attempted to expose corruption at the
EU's rule of law mission (EULEX). The Foreign Office said: "We have agreed to settle this long-running case without any admission of liability and continue to strongly refute these allegations."
International Academy
Following a prior announcement by the then Foreign Secretary
William Hague, the
Diplomatic Academy was established in February 2015.
The centre was established in order to create a cross-government centre of excellence for all civil servants working on international issues.
The academy serves to broaden the department's network and engage in collaborative work with academic and diplomatic partners.
The institution was renamed the International Academy as part of the 2020 creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Programme Funds
The FCDO, through its core departmental budget, funds projects which are in line with its policy priorities outlined in its Single Departmental Plan.
This funding includes both
Official Development Assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It is w ...
(ODA), and non-ODA funds. The funds are used for a wide range of projects and serve to support traditional diplomatic activities.
The FCDO plays a key role in delivering two, major UK government funds which work to support the government's
National Security Strategy and Aid Strategy.
* The
Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) – Used to support cross-governmental efforts at reducing conflict-related risks in countries which the UK has important interests.
* The Prosperity Fund – Supports economic development and reform in the UK's partner countries.
* The
Global Innovation Fund – Invests in evidence-based innovations with the potential to positively impact the lives of people living on less than $5 per day.
The FCDO also supports a number of academic funds:
*
Chevening scholarships
*
Marshall scholarships
* Domestic Programme Fund
* Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (Darwin Plus)
* Science and Innovation Network
2021 aid budget cuts
In 2021, the UK government cut its overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of Gross National Income despite UK legislation against such a move. These cuts, amounting to £4 billion,
reduced funding for humanitarian intervention by 44% in places like
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
and
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
.
It also cut funding for the fight against
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
,
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
and
HIV/AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
. Funding for girls education worldwide was also reduced by 25%.
Investments
The
Global Innovation Fund (GIF) announced the first two investments made under its 'Innovating for Climate Resilience fund', which was launched at
COP26 with support from the UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and in partnership with the Adaptation Research Alliance and the Global Resilience Partnership.
UNRWA funding
According to the FCDO and Foreign Secretary, the UK committed over £100 million in aid to the OPTs (Occupied Palestinian territories) for the 2023/2024 period, of which £35 million was specifically provided to
UNRWA before it was suspended in January 2024. The funding was suspended after allegations surfaced that members of staff at
UNRWA had been involved in the 7 October
attacks by Hamas in Israel in 2023; however, in July 2024, UK Foreign Secretary
David Lammy announced that the UK would resume funding to
UNRWA.
FCDO Services
In April 2006, a new
executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...
was established, FCO Services (now FCDO Services), to provide corporate service functions. It moved to
Trading Fund status in April 2008, so that it had the ability to provide services similar to those it already offers to the FCDO
to other government departments and even to outside businesses.
As of 2017
Sir Simon Gass is
Non-Executive Director and
Chair of the FCDO Services Board.
FCDO Services operates globally in 250 destinations across 168 countries; with office regions covering Asia & Pacific, Europe & Central Asia, Middle East & Africa and The Americas.
The services FCDO Services offer are "
Digital and Cloud", "
Securing your Buildings and Spaces", "
Logistics
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
", "
Translation
Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...
and
Interpreting
Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
" and "
Technical Security from
UK NACE".
It is accountable to the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, and provides secure support services to the FCDO, other government departments and foreign governments and bodies with which the UK has close links.
Since 2011, FCDO Services has been developing the Government Secure Application Environment (GSAE) on a secure
cloud computing
Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...
platform to support UK government organisations. It also manages the UK National Authority for Counter Eavesdropping (UK NACE) which helps protect UK assets from physical, electronic and
cyber attack.
FCDO Services is a public sector organisation, it is not funded by the public and has to rely on the income it produces to meet its costs, by providing services on a commercial basis to customers both in the UK and throughout the world. Its accounting officer and chief executive is accountable to the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs and to Parliament, for the organisation's performance and conduct.
Global Response Office
The FCDO Global Response Office is based in an undisclosed location. It operates 24/7, every day of the year. It takes calls from British Nationals overseas, usually in emergency situations such as lost passports, hospitalisations, deaths and arrests.
Library of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Records Department
The historical records of the FCO was transferred to a permanent loan to
King’s College London in 2007, likely from the review to reduce due to cost reduction of non-core activities at the FCO. The collection consists of 90,000 artifacts from the early 16th Century (mainly of Tudor England) to present.
Buildings
As well as embassies abroad, the FCDO has premises within the UK:
* Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main Building,
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
, King Charles St, London (abbreviated to KCS by FCDO staff)
*Abercrombie House,
East Kilbride (abbreviated to AH by FCDO staff)
*
Hanslope Park,
Hanslope,
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
(abbreviated to HSP by FCDO staff). Location of
FCDO Services,
HMGCC and Technical Security Department of the UK
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...
)
*
Lancaster House,
St James's
St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...
, London. A mansion in the St James's district in the West End of London which the Foreign Office holds on lease from the Crown. It is used primarily for hospitality, entertaining foreign dignitaries and housing the
Government Wine Cellar.
The FCO formerly also used the following building:
*
Old Admiralty Building (abbreviated to OAB),
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
, London
Main Building

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development 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, on the plot of land bounded by Whitehall, King Charles Street, Horse Guards Road and
Downing Street
Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
. The building was designed by the architect
George Gilbert Scott.
Its architecture is in the
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
style; Scott had initially envisaged a
Gothic design, but
Lord Palmerston, then prime minister, insisted on a classical style.
[ The 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
The Locarno Treaties, known collectively as the Locarno Pact, were seven post-World War I agreements negotiated amongst Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Second Polish Republic, Poland and First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak ...
, 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 the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In the 1960s, demolition was proposed, as part of major redevelopment plan for the area drawn up by the architect Leslie Martin
Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influenced ...
.[ A subsequent public outcry prevented these proposals from ever being implemented. Instead, the Foreign Office became a Grade I ]listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
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.
In 2014 refurbishment to accommodate all Foreign and Commonwealth Office employees into one building was started by Mace.
]
Devolution
International relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
are handled centrally from Whitehall on behalf of the whole of the United Kingdom and its dependencies. However, the devolved administrations also maintain an overseas presence in the European Union, the U.S. and China alongside British diplomatic missions. These offices aim to promote their own economies and ensure that devolved interests are taken into account in British foreign policy. Ministers from devolved administrations can attend international negotiations when agreed with the British Government, e.g. EU fisheries negotiations.
See also
* Foreign and Commonwealth Office Migrated Archives
* Palmerston (cat)
Palmerston is a cat who was the resident Chief Mouser of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) at Whitehall in London. He is a black-and-white bicolour cat and began his role in the position of Chief Mouser on 13 April 2016. Previously, he was ...
, former resident Chief Mouser of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
* Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation
* List of development aid agencies
References
Further reading
*
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External links
*
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{{Authority control
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Italianate architecture in England
Grade I listed government buildings
Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Ministries established in 1968
George Gilbert Scott buildings
1968 establishments in the United Kingdom
Foreign Office during World War II
Whitehall