The British High Commissioner to India, Sir Philip Barton, takes up his new post from 1 September.
London:
British High Commissioner to India Sir Philip Barton has been promoted to Minister in the new Office for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
The British Foreign Office said Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab approved the appointment of Mr Barton as permanent under secretary in the new ministry, which was unveiled by the British Prime Minister earlier this year as a new “super department”. which will merge the UK Department for International Development (DfID) with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
“I am delighted that Sir Philip has been successfully selected as Permanent Undersecretary of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He is an outstanding civil servant and diplomat with experience in all areas of foreign policy “said Mr. Raab.
“Philip is well positioned to bring together the talent and expertise of the two departments while helping to combine our foreign and development policy in an innovative, ambitious and more integrated way than ever before,” he said.
Mr Barton takes his new post from September 1, but the Foreign Office has yet to confirm details of his current New Delhi-based assignment. He presented his credentials as British envoy to President Ram Nath Kovind in a virtual ceremony last month.
“I am delighted to have been appointed Permanent Under Secretary of the new Office for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. I look forward to bringing together our diplomats and development experts to serve the British people and act as a force for good around the world, ”said Mr Barton.
The appointment, confirmed by British Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, ends Sir Simon McDonald’s tenure as head of the soon to be transformed FCO.
Mr. Sedwill said: “Philip will bring to the role an understanding of development finance abroad as well as experience in international relations. Under his leadership, I am confident that the new organization will strengthen the UK’s global leadership by aligning our development and diplomatic efforts to bring more coherence to our international presence.
“I would also like to thank Sir Simon McDonald for his leadership of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the past five years, and Nick Dyer who has headed the Department for International Development on an interim basis since March.”
A career public servant, Barton joined the FCO in the 1980s and held positions such as Managing Director, Consular Services and Security, and before that as Acting Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the Cabinet Office.
Earlier in his career, he served as High Commissioner in Islamabad, Deputy Head of Mission in Washington, and Director of Foreign Policy and Afghanistan / Pakistan Coordinator.
His promotion to take over the new government ministry comes after Johnson told the House of Commons in June that his ambition was for the “super department” to maximize Britain’s influence and incorporate all aspects of the Post-Brexit Britain.
Mr Raab will continue to lead the transformed FCO and will now have the power to decide which countries will receive – or cease to receive – British aid, while proposing a “one British strategy” for each country, under the oversight of a Council of national security chaired by the United Kingdom. PM.
