BY WOLFGANG GEISSLER As prophesied by Lord Hailsham in 1976, Elective Dictatorship is much closer to the truth in today's United Kingdom than most would believe. At least as an observer and with a son still living in the UK, one may be inclined to assume that a fully fledged authoritarian pseudo parliamentarian ... Weiterlesen >

Diplomatic lessons, Vienna 2016-2021 by former Ambassador Leigh Turner This blog article is republished without modifications from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/diplomatic-lessons-11-vienna-2016-21-give-something-back-turner-cmg/ by courtesy of the author. When I was appointed as a junior diplomat to Vienna in September 1984, my letter of appointment, signed by Her Majesty the Queen and Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe, contained ... Weiterlesen >

or, The Show Must Go On? by Gerhard Seidl One of the reasons for my deep love of Britain is its vibrant music scene. In the 80’s and 90’s I enjoyed many memorable nights in small clubs, and big open-air festivals, all over the island. Every summer, during my student years,  I worked ... Weiterlesen >

by Jochen Ressel As a sports Epeé fencer, a number of years ago, I decided to dive deeper into this fascinating sport than just having training multiple times per week – covering tactics, concentration, fencing technique, speed, muscularity and elasticity, whilst participating in numerous competitions over the season. I wanted to understand fencing ... Weiterlesen >

Experiences over 50 years of mobility from the perspective of the oil business  by Gustav Trubatsch Yes, it was really buzzing - the automotive industry in the 60s and 70s. Somehow it became clear that the car would be the product of the century. As a newcomer to the job market, there was ... Weiterlesen >

It’s Wimbledon again by Jochen Ressel In the late 1990’s, when I worked for a company’s London HQ, our President would have loved to be British. Unfortunately his name was so clearly Swedish, that there was never any doubt that he is not. As a compensation he collected memberships of every British club ... Weiterlesen >

by H.E. Ambassador Leigh Turner This blog article is republished without any modification from https://blogs.fcdo.gov.uk/leighturner/2021/06/22/diplomatic-lessons-8-2006-8-embrace-responsibility/  by courtesy of the author. When I started work as head of the Overseas Territories Department of the FCO (as it then was) in July 2006, I inherited from my predecessor three steel cabinets stuffed full of files.  They covered all ... Weiterlesen >

… and why he was forced to delay it Ambassadorial Experiences | Part 2 By Alexander Christiani Nelson Mandela, after 27 years of incarceration by the Apartheid regime, was finally set free in Capetown on a sunny and hot Sunday on February 11, 1990. I, at that time, had the good fortune to ... Weiterlesen >

The Labour Leader’s Tear Jerker by Melanie Sully The British are known for the stiff upper lip. You just get on with it, make a cup of tea and carry on. The Queen is the epitome of dutiful aloofness which has won admiration because it suits the tasks she has carried out. Maybe ... Weiterlesen >

One of several remarkable personal experiences of the former Austrian Ambassador in the Netherlands Ambassadorial Experiences | Part 1 Dr Alexander Christiani When on 4 February 2000 the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel decided to form a government with the Haider-FPÖ, hell broke loose in Europe. A number of European member states imposed “sanctions” ... Weiterlesen >