Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Department overview

FCDO Main Building, Westminster
Formed	1782; 242 years ago (1782) (as the Foreign Office)
Preceding agencies	Commonwealth Office Foreign Office Department for International Development
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	King Charles Street London SW1 51°30′11″N 0°07′40″W / 51.50306°N 0.12778°W / 51.50306; -0.12778
Annual budget	£1.1bn (current) & £0.1bn (capital) in 2015–16^[1]
Secretary of State responsible	The Rt Hon. The Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton PC, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Deputy Secretary responsible	The Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP, Deputy Foreign Secretary, Minister of State for Development and Africa
Department executive	Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Secretary and Head of HM Diplomatic Service
Child agencies	FCDO Services Wilton Park
Website	gov.uk/fcdo

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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) 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).^[2] The FCO was itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the Commonwealth Office. The department in its various forms 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. Former Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed Foreign Secretary on 13 November 2023.

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 Philip Barton took office as permanent under-secretary on 2 September 2020.

The expenditure, administration and policy of the FCDO are scrutinised by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.^[3]

^ Foreign Office Settlement. London: HM Treasury. 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
^ "FCDO Board Non-executive Director". UK Government. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020.
^ "Foreign Affairs Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 September 2021. The Foreign Affairs Committee examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other bodies associated with the Foreign Office