The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), or Foreign Office is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID). The FCO was itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the Commonwealth Office, with the Foreign Office itself initially being established in 1782. The department is responsible for representing and promoting British interests worldwide.
The head of the FCDO is the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly abbreviated to "foreign secretary". This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the Cabinet – the Great Offices of State – alongside those of Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary. Yvette Cooper was appointed Foreign Secretary on 5 September 2025 following the 2025 British cabinet reshuffle.
The FCDO is managed day-to-day by a civil servant, the permanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, who also acts as the Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service. Sir Oliver Robbins took office as permanent under-secretary on 8 January 2025 until his dismissal on 16 April 2026.
The expenditure, administration and policy of the FCDO are scrutinised by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Responsibilities
According to the FCDO website, the department's key responsibilities (as of 2020) are as follows:
Safeguarding the UK's national security by countering terrorism and weapons proliferation, and working to reduce conflict.
Building the UK's prosperity by increasing exports and investment, opening markets, ensuring access to resources, and promoting sustainable global growth.
Supporting British nationals around the world through modern and efficient consular services.
In addition to those responsibilities, the FCDO is responsible for the British Overseas Territories, which had previously been administered from 1782 to 1801 by the Home Office, from 1801 to 1854 by the War and Colonial Office, from 1854 to 1966 by the Colonial Office, from 1966 to 1968 by the Commonwealth Office, and from 1968 by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (this did not include protectorates, which fell under the purview of the Foreign Office, or to British India, which had been administered by the East India Company until 1858, and thereafter by the India Office).
This arrangement has been subject to criticism in the UK and in the overseas territories. For example, the chief minister of Anguilla, Victor Banks, said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of the Commonwealth, so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect". There have been numerous suggestions on ways to improve the relationship between the overseas territories and the UK. Suggestions have included setting up a dedicated department to handle relations with the overseas territories, similarly to the French Ministry of the Overseas, or alternatively the absorption of the Overseas Territories Directorate (OTD) in the Cabinet Office, thus affording the overseas territories with better connections to the centre of government.
Ministers
The FCDO ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:
History
Eighteenth century
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.
Nineteenth century
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources. Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included: Henry Southern, Valentine Chirol, Harold Nicolson, and Robert Bruce Lockhart.
Twentieth century
During the First World War, the Arab Bureau was set up within the British Foreign Office as a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department. During the early Cold War an important department was the Information Research Department (IRD) which was used to create propaganda against socialist and anti-colonial movements. In 1922 after the end of the First World War the recently created Government Code and Cypher School moved from the Admiralty to the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Office hired its first woman diplomat, Monica Milne, in 1946.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1968–2020)
The FCO was formed on 17 October 1968, from the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office having been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office and the India Office in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office held responsibility for international development issues between 1970 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1997.
The National Archives website contains a government timeline to show the departments responsible for foreign and commonwealth affairs from 1945.
Under New Labour (1997–2010)
From 1997, international development became the responsibility of the separate Department for International Development.
When David Miliband took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand a review of the FCO's strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward.
The new strategic framework consists of three core elements:
A flexible global network of staff and offices, serving the whole of the UK Government.
Three essential services that support the British economy, British nationals abroad and managed migration for Britain. These services are delivered through UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), consular teams in Britain and overseas, and UK Visas and Immigration.
Four policy goals:
countering terrorism and weapons proliferation and their causes
preventing and resolving conflict
promoting a low-carbon, high-growth, global economy
developing effective international institutions, in particular the United Nations and the European Union.
In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public by Andrew Mackinlay. The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting:
The Foreign Office could be "slow to act".
Delegation is lacking within the management structure.
Accountability was poor.
The FCO could feasibly cut 1,200 jobs.
At least £48 million could be saved annually.
The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations.
In 2009, Gordon Brown created the position of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the FCO. The first science adviser was David Clary.
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condoms, the opening of an abortion clinic and the blessing of a same-sex marriage.
Coalition and Conservatives (2010–2020)
In 2012, the Foreign Office was criticised by Gerald Steinberg of the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor, saying that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development provided more than £500,000 in funding to Palestinian NGOs which he said "promote political attacks on Israel". In response, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said "we are very careful about who and what we fund. The objective of our funding is to support efforts to achieve a two-state solution. Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees."
In September 2012, the FCO and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticised for further diminishing the UK's influence in Europe.
In 2011, the then foreign secretary, William Hague, announced the government's intention to open a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network. As such, eight new embassies and six new consulates were opened around the world.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2020–2022)
On 16 June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the merger of the FCO with the Department for International Development. This was following the decision in the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle to give cross-departmental briefs to all junior ministers in the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office. The merger, which created the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, took place in September 2020 with a stated aim of ensuring that aid is spent "in line with the UK's priorities overseas". The merger was criticised by three former prime ministers – Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and David Cameron – with Cameron saying that it would mean "less respect for the UK overseas". The chief executive of Save the Children, Kevin Watkins, called it "reckless, irresponsible and a dereliction of UK leadership" that "threatens to reverse hard-won gains in child survival, nutrition and poverty".
In November 2021, it was reported that an employment tribunal had ruled that the FCDO had racially discriminated against Sonia Warner, a black senior civil servant, by treating her unfairly in a disciplinary process.
On 21 February 2022, UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford announced a new £74 million financial package to support women entrepreneurs across Nigeria, who own businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In 2022, Maria Bamieh settled an employment claim against the Foreign Office for more than £400,000 shortly before her claim was due to be heard by an employment tribunal. She said that the Foreign Office failed to support her when she attempted to expose corruption at the EU's rule of law mission (EULEX). The Foreign Office said: "We have agreed to settle this long-running case without any admission of liability and continue to strongly refute these allegations."
International Academy
Following a prior announcement by the then Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Diplomatic Academy was established in February 2015. The centre was established in order to create a cross-government centre of excellence for all civil servants working on international issues. The academy serves to broaden the department's network and engage in collaborative work with academic and diplomatic partners. The institution was renamed the International Academy as part of the 2020 creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Programme Funds
The FCDO, through its core departmental budget, funds projects which are in line with its policy priorities outlined in its Single Departmental Plan. This funding includes both Official Development Assistance (ODA), and non-ODA funds. The funds are used for a wide range of projects and serve to support traditional diplomatic activities.
The FCDO plays a key role in delivering two, major UK government funds which work to support the government's National Security Strategy and Aid Strategy.