Andrew Sparkes CMG (born 4 July 1959) is a former British diplomat who was ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo and Nepal.
Andrew Sparkes CMG (born 4 July 1959) is a former British diplomat who was ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo and Nepal.
Andrew James Sparkes was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, Manchester Grammar School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He taught English in Japan 1981–82, then joined the Diplomatic Service. In his early career he served at Ankara, Bangkok, Jakarta and on secondment to the then Department of Trade and Industry.
King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in Edgbaston, an area of Birmingham, England. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham.
Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is the largest independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom and is located in Manchester, England. Founded in 1515 as a free grammar school, it was formerly adjacent to Manchester Parish Church until 1931 when it moved to its present 28-acre site at Fallowfield. In accordance with its founder's wishes, MGS has remained a predominantly academic school and belongs to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.
Sparkes was Deputy High Commissioner to South Africa (and Consul-General for Johannesburg and Pretoria) 2001–04, Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo 2004–07, and Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo 2008–10. In 2010 he was seconded to the European Union as Deputy Head of the largest EU civilian mission in the world, the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. In 2013 he was appointed ambassador to Nepal. [1]
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (White), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of large-scale gold and diamond trade.
Pretoria is a city in the northern part of Gauteng province in South Africa. It straddles the Apies River and has spread eastwards into the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the administrative branch of government, and of foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria has a reputation for being an academic city with three universities, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Human Sciences Research Council. The city also hosts the National Research Foundation and the South African Bureau of Standards making the city a hub for research. Pretoria is the central part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities including Centurion and Soshanguve. There have been proposals to change the name of Pretoria itself to Tshwane, and the proposed name change has caused some public controversy.
In 2014 Sparkes caused a diplomatic row after he sent an open letter to Constituent Assembly members on the occasion of Human Rights Day, at a time when the new Constitution of Nepal was being debated. His letter included the phrase "We encourage you to ensure that the right to change religion is protected ..." [2] Hindu conservatives seized on it as "evidence of a Western conspiracy to spread Christianity in Nepal." [3] Nepal's Foreign Minister, Pradip Kumar Gyawali however said, “We have proof that the relief package given to earthquake victims by some donors and NGOs also carried Bible and related literature,” in relation to humanitarian aid provided to the country in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. [3]
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December every year.
Constitution of Nepal 2015 is the present governing Constitution of Nepal. Nepal is governed according to the Constitution which came into effect on Sept 20, 2015, replacing the Interim Constitution of 2007. The constitution of Nepal is divided into 35 parts, 308 Articles and 9 Schedules.
Pradeep Kumar Gyawali is a Nepalese politician, belonging to the Communist Party of Nepal. He is a Central Committee member of the party. In the 2008 parliamentary election he was elected from the Gulmi-2 constituency, winning 24345 votes. In the 2017 Legislative elections, Gyawali is elected from the Gulmi- 1 constituency with 37814 votes.On 16 March 2018, he appointed as Minister of foreign affairs.
Sparkes resigned from the Diplomatic Service in April 2015. [4] Since 2016 he has been a senior fellow (teacher) at Winchester College and a member of council of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.
Winchester College is an independent boarding school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years. It is the oldest of the original seven English public schools defined by the Clarendon Commission and regulated by the Public Schools Act 1868.
The Royal Society for Asian Affairs is a learned society based in London that was founded in 1901 as the Central Asian Society to "promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries". The geographical extent of the society's interest has since expanded to include the whole of Asia. Taylor & Francis publishes the society's journal, Asian Affairs, which has been in print since 1914. The current editor of the journal is Bijan Omrani
Sparkes was appointed CMG in the 2007 Birthday Honours. [5]
The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of the Congo.
The British Embassy Pyongyang is the British sovereign's diplomatic mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, representing the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom's interests. It is located in the Munsu-dong compound, where most of the diplomatic missions to North Korea are located, with the exception of the Russian and Chinese missions.
Ian Cameron Cliff is a British diplomat who has been Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sudan, the OSCE and Kosovo, as well as Chargé d'Affaires in Croatia.
James F. Entwistle was the United States Ambassador to Nigeria from October 28, 2013 to October 2016. From 2010 until 2013 he was the ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is a career Foreign Service Officer. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand from July 2007 and was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 2004 until 2006.
Nepalese-British relations are the foreign relations between the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Relations between the UK and Nepal have historically been friendly and there have been close links between the Royal Families. The UK is highly regarded in Nepal as a result of historical ties, development assistance and long term support in the struggle for democratic peace in Nepal.
Qiu Guohong is a Chinese diplomat and currently the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea.
James Nicholas Geoffrey Bowden is a British diplomat who is ambassador to Chile.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Atkinson | Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo 2004–2007 | Succeeded by Nicholas Kay |
| Preceded by David Blunt | Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo 2008–2010 | Succeeded by Ian Cliff |
| Preceded by John Tucknott | Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal 2013–2015 | Succeeded by John Rankin |