The Department of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs ( English Foreign and Commonwealth Office ; unofficially: the English Foreign Office , the Forin Office , the Forin Office or the Forin Office ) is the British Foreign Office , one of the departments of the British government.
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Content
- 1 History
- 2 Structure
- 3 The main building of the Foreign Office
- 4 Miscellaneous
- 5 notes
- 6 References
History
The first Foreign Office was created in March 1782 by transforming the North and South Departments, each of which was responsible for the corresponding geographical region of the Kingdom, and separating from its internal affairs department, which were transferred to another department of the government - the Home Office .
In its modern form, the ministry was created in 1968 by the merger of the Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office .
Structure
The Foreign Office is headed by the British Foreign Secretary (the literal title of the post is Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs). The management of the Foreign Office also includes “state ministers” and “parliamentary deputies of the state secretary”, in Russian terms - junior ministers or deputy ministers. All of them, like the minister, are political appointees and represent the parties that form the government. As a rule, the Minister and his deputies are appointed from among the members of the Parliament. Deputy ministers are considered members of the government, but are not members of the Cabinet. Each deputy minister determines the policy of the Foreign Office in a specific set of areas.
Directly day-to-day activities of the ministry are led by a “permanent deputy secretary of state” - the highest career civil servant (and not a political appointee) in the Foreign Office.
Further along the hierarchical ladder, the directors of the ministry include general directors, each of whom has several directorates. Directorates are divided into departments, departments into departments and other units of various configurations.
The main building of the Foreign Office
The Foreign Office building at King Charles Street is one of London's attractions. The building was built in the Italian style in 1861-1868 by the architect George Gilbert. With its eastern façade, it overlooks Whitehall Government Street, which is located between the residence of the Prime Minister ( 10 Downing Street ) and the Department of the Treasury. Directly opposite the Foreign Office in the middle of Whitehall is the Monument to the Unknown Soldier (Cenotaph) - the main British war memorial.
The building was originally intended for four British ministries: home affairs, foreign affairs, colonial affairs, and Indian affairs. The interior decoration of the building, including numerous sculptures, was designed to personify the power of the British Empire and its beneficial role in world affairs.
The historical premises of the Foreign Office include:
- “Locarno Hall”, in which the Locarno Treaties were signed in 1925;
- Durbar Court is a courtyard that is dedicated to the ceremony of Durbar , the symbolic coronation of the British monarch as the sovereign of India.
The building of the Foreign Office is classified in the UK among the monuments of history and architecture of the first category.
It is traditionally open to the public at the annual “ open weekend ” of government, business and other notable buildings in London.
Miscellaneous
He is a member of the central office of the Association of International Law .
In 1930, Foreign Office employee Ernest Holloway Oldham became an agent of Soviet intelligence (died in 1933 ), and in 1935, a temporary employee, John Herbert King (was arrested in 1939 ) was recruited.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 archINFORM - 1994.