The Foreign,Commonwealth &Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs,it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign &Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (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 Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is a department of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom responsible for environmental protection,food production and standards,agriculture,fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation,between it and the Scottish Government,Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive,which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body,established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs,with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England.
Sir James Philip Duddridge,is a British politician and former banker. A member of the Conservative Party,he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochford and Southend East since 2005. Duddridge previously held several ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron,Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Sir David Norman Reddaway is a retired British diplomat who was High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Ireland and Turkey.
Sir Dominic Anthony Gerard Asquith is a British career diplomat and former Ambassador to Iraq,Egypt,and Libya. He was First Secretary at the British Embassy in Washington DC. He was most recently the British High Commissioner to the Republic of India.
Sir William Charters Patey,KCMG is a British retired diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012,and previously served as Ambassador to Sudan,to Iraq and to Saudi Arabia.
Climate change is impacting the environment and human population of the United Kingdom (UK). The country's climate is becoming warmer,with drier summers and wetter winters. The frequency and intensity of storms,floods,droughts and heatwaves is increasing,and sea level rise is impacting coastal areas. The UK is also a contributor to climate change,having emitted more greenhouse gas per person than the world average. Climate change is having economic impacts on the UK and presents risks to human health and ecosystems.
Mark Philip Sedwill,Baron Sedwill,is a British diplomat and senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson from 2018 to 2020. He also served as the United Kingdom National Security Adviser from 2017 to 2020. He was previously the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan in 2010. He was the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from February 2013 to April 2017.
Sir Alok Kumar Sharma is a British Conservative Party politician who served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022,having previously served as Secretary of State for Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2020 to 2021 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2019 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West since 2010.
Sir Stanley James Gunn Fingland was a British diplomat who was High Commissioner to Sierra Leone,Ambassador to Cuba and High Commissioner to Kenya.
The 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,also known as CHOGM 2015 was the 24th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Malta from 27 to 29 November. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena handed the position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office to Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat at the meeting.
Sir Philip Robert Barton is a British diplomat,currently the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office. He was previously British High Commissioner to India;he was High Commissioner to Pakistan from 2014 to 2016.
The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit,exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards,including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.
Sir Ronald Michael Sanders is an Antiguan Barbudan diplomat,academic,former broadcast-journalist,and the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS) since 2015. He holds the unique distinction of being the first person,since the OAS enlarged its membership in 1962,to serve as Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OAS for an unprecedented three terms. He completed his highly successful third term on December 31,2023,having played a widely recognized role in guiding the work of the Permanent Council in the peaceful transition of government in Guatemala on 14 January 2024.
The 1920 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King,and were published in The London Gazette on 4 June 1920.
