Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sir Brian Barder profile: 30 years a diplomat, from Ethiopia to Australia

Source: Scotsman.com, 17 February 2011
Sir Brian Barder spent a 30-year career in the Foreign Office, taking in postings including Moscow, Ontario and the United Nations, and culminating in his role as British High Commissioner to Australia between 1991 and 1994.

His most high-profile job came in his first ambassadorial posting in Ethiopia, when he led the UK presence there during the 1984-85 famine.

He played a key role in making possible the deployment of the RAF to Ethiopia for 14 months to move relief supplies from the ports to remote parts of the country, where it was urgently needed.

He also led the UK embassies in Poland and Nigeria.

He was awarded a KCMG in 1992, before retiring from active service in 1994, since when he was been a high-profile critic of UK government policy. He has described the war in Iraq as a conflict of "manifest illegality" and the most controversial foreign policy issue since the Suez crisis.

He has also hit out at the UK government's attempts to introduce detention without trial and resigned from a commission which considered appeals by immigrants.

He has also been a vocal critic of anti-terrorism policies introduced by the UK government since the 7/7 suicide bombs in London.

Sir Brian has never had any active involvement in relations with Libya or with the Lockerbie affair.

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