Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main Building, London, seen from Whitehall |
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| Department overview | |
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| Formed | 1968 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | King Charles Street London, SW1 51°30′09″N 0°07′39.7″W / 51.50250°N 0.127694°W |
| Annual budget | £1.1bn (current) & £0.1bn (capital) in 2015-16 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executive |
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| Child agencies |
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| Website | www |
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), commonly called the Foreign Office, is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide. It was created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.
The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly abbreviated to "Foreign Secretary" (currently Boris Johnson). This position is regarded as one of the four most prestigious appointments in the Cabinet, alongside those of Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary. Together with the Prime Minister, these are the Great Offices of State.
The FCO is managed from day-to-day by a civil servant, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who also acts as the Head of the Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. This position is held by Sir Simon McDonald, who took office on 1 September 2015.
The FCO Ministers are as follows:
The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern and Northern Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office. The Home Office is technically the senior.
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