Liz Truss named UK foreign secretary, overseeing reduced aid budget

Elizabeth Truss has been named to run the United Kingdom's aid-spending and development department as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, in an appointment that got mixed reviews from civil servants and advocacy groups.

Truss was promoted to secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth, and development affairs from her role leading the Department for International Trade by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday. She was replaced at DIT by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who was the final U.K. international development secretary.

Now-former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab — who has run the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office since its creation last year, through the country’s aid cuts and then the Afghanistan crisis — was demoted to justice secretary and deputy prime minister. In a tweet, he called it a “privilege to serve as Foreign Secretary,” noting that he oversaw “a merger of departments, publication of the Integrated Review & the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt.”

“Global Britain is a force for good in the world served by the finest cadre of diplomats & development experts,” he added, with an emoji of the U.K. flag.

Truss joins FCDO at a time of upheaval, with the department lacking a development strategy. Stefan Dercon, hired by Raab to advise on international development, is unsure of his future within the department. The demoralized department is also facing dismissals, according to informed sources. “Who is she?” one senior official wrote to Devex. “The only thing I know is she wants to get the Japanese to eat cheese!” the person added, referencing trade talks with Japan that stalled over Stilton. “Can't be worse [than Raab] can she?”

“She’s pretty difficult … and not very empathetic,” said one person who worked with Truss in the government. “She’s very political. She understands evidence and what’s important. But if there is no political gain there, she’s not interested. She’ll come into the job thinking, ‘How can I put myself into position to be the future PM, and what do I need to focus on for that to happen?’”

NGOs cautiously welcomed the latest in a series of secretaries of state to oversee development since 2016.

“Liz Truss comes into the job with the three major challenges of Covid, Climate and Conflict demanding her immediate attention. With a smaller budget to work with following the cuts to U.K. aid, COP26 [the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties] in Glasgow [Scotland] just around the corner and the U.K. still president of the G7 [group of nations], she will need to do a lot more with a lot less,” wrote Tim Cole, Europe executive director for the ONE Campaign.

Truss “has an important role to play in delivering a high ambition COP 26 and in ensuring [aid] becomes fully aligned with the Paris Agreement,” said Stephanie Draper, chief executive at Bond, the network for British NGOs.

But Truss joins the job with a black mark against her record on climate — one of her new department’s key development priorities — after Sky News reported she gave in to Australian demands to remove references to temperature goals in the Paris Agreement from a trade deal. Some in the development sector are also wary of her record on arms exports; she has apologized to a court for breaching a pledge not to grant licenses allowing sales to Saudi Arabia.

Truss, a staunch free marketeer, saw popularity among members of the Conservative Party during her tenure at DIT, where she became the face of trade deal-making after the U.K. exit from the European Union. Despite this, public speaking has been seen as one of Truss’ weaker areas; some of her more stunted performances have been the subject of widespread mockery. She described herself as “not very diplomatic” in a 2018 interview with the BBC.

But she is social media-savvy and became known for her frequent Union Jack-laden photo shoots each time a new trade deal was sealed — to the extent that DIT was reportedly nicknamed the “Department for Instagramming Truss.” She is reputed to be highly driven and ambitious.

As international trade secretary, Truss oversaw an increased emphasis toward the Indo-Pacific region, which was mirrored by FCDO. Many observers rate her as having been competent in the role, though its responsibilities are quite different from that of foreign secretary. Under her leadership, DIT was empowered to produce serious proposals on improving trade access for lower-income countries, according to Ian Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

“You never quite know what to expect of someone that comes into the role of foreign secretary. We’ll wait and see,” said Kate Ferguson, co-executive director at Protection Approaches, a charity focused on atrocity prevention.

“There will be some convincing that Truss will have to do on how her appointment doesn’t signal an overemphasis on trade in a merged department,” Ferguson said. “Does her appointment signal a prioritization of trade over other constituent parts [such as development and diplomacy] of a responsible and effective international policy?”