The Foreign,Commonwealth &Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. 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,itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the Commonwealth Office,was responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide.
The secretary of state for foreign,Commonwealth and development affairs,also referred to as the foreign secretary,is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom,with overall responsibility for the work of the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as one of the most senior ministers in the government and a Great Office of State,the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom,fourth in the ministerial ranking.
Valerie Ann Amos,Baroness Amos,is a British Labour Party politician and diplomat who served as the eighth UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before her appointment to the UN,she served as British High Commissioner to Australia. She was created a life peer in 1997,serving as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council from 2003 to 2007. Since September 2020,Amos has been Master of University College,Oxford,succeeding Sir Ivor Crewe and becoming the first-ever black head of an Oxford college,as well as the first female appointed to the post.
The Department for International Development (DFID) was the government department of the United Kingdom responsible for administering foreign aid. The goal of the department was "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". DFID was headed by the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development. The position was last held between 13 February 2020 and the department's abolishment on 2 September 2020 by Anne-Marie Trevelyan. In a 2010 report by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC),DFID was described as "an international development leader in times of global crisis". The UK aid logo is often used to publicly acknowledge DFID's development programmes are funded by UK taxpayers.
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George,Prince Regent,later King George IV,while he was acting as regent for his father,King George III.
Usha Kumari Prashar,Baroness Prashar,is a British politician and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Since the 1970s,she has served as a director or chair of a variety of public and private sector organisations. She became the first chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission upon its creation in April 2006.
Sir John Michael Medlicott Vereker,KCB,KStJ,FRSA,CInstM is a former British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary for International Development (1994-2002) and Governor of Bermuda (2002-2007).
Matthew John Rycroft is a British civil servant and diplomat serving as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office since 2020,appointed following the resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam. Rycroft previously served as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2018 to 2020 and as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2015 to 2018.
Peter Forbes Ricketts,Baron Ricketts,is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2016.
Vice Admiral Sir Adrian James Johns,is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy,serving as Second Sea Lord between 2005 and 2008. He was the Governor of Gibraltar between 2009 and 2013.
Sir Robert John Sawers FRUSI is a British intelligence officer,diplomat and civil servant. He was Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6),a position he held from November 2009 until November 2014. He was previously the British Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2007 to November 2009.
Major General Timothy Cross,CBE is a retired British Army officer and military logistics expert. He was commissioned in 1971 into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and went on to serve in Germany,Northern Ireland and Cyprus,interspersed with staff duties and further education. He was posted to Paris in 1984,where he was involved in the development of the MILAN anti-tank weapon,before returning to his regiment as a company commander. He took command of 1 Ordnance Battalion in 1990 and was tasked with running logistics for 1st Armoured Division during the Gulf War. He went on to serve as Commander,Logistic Support for 3rd Infantry Division in 1992.
Matt Baugh is a British diplomat who was ambassador to Somalia,the first for 20 years.
Simon Gerard McDonald,Baron McDonald of Salford,is a British former diplomat who was the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service until September 2020. He was the last professional head of the Foreign &Commonwealth Office before the creation of the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office. On 23 November 2021,McDonald was elected Master-Elect of Christ's College,Cambridge,with a term of office beginning 1 September 2022.
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.
Christina Martha Elena Scott is a British civil servant and diplomat. She served as Governor of Anguilla between 2013 and 2017,and was the first woman to hold the post. She has been Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Beijing since September 2018.
Lisa Kathleen Honan was the Governor of Saint Helena,Ascension and Tristan da Cunha from 26 April 2016 until 11 May 2019,when she was replaced by Philip Rushbrook. She is the first,and currently only,female to have held the post. Honan was previously Head of Office in Kenya for the Department for International Development,and after holding the post in St Helena went on to be Head of the DFID Office in Nepal. She resigned from there in August 2021 ending a career lasting 46 years in international development.
Moazzam Tufail Malik is a British civil servant and diplomat. He served as Director-General Africa in the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office from September 2020 to May 2022. His thematic responsibilities included conflict and stabilisation,good governance and human rights,economic development and the Commonwealth.
Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam is a British lawyer and civil servant who has served as Governor of Anguilla since 18 January 2021. She is the second female holder of the position after Christina Scott.
Lindy Cameron is a British civil servant who is chief executive officer at the National Cyber Security Centre. She was previously Director-General responsible for the Department for International Development’s programmes in Africa,Asia and the Middle East. She was awarded an Order of the Bath in the 2020 Birthday Honours for her services to international development.
