The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is undergoing a major reform that will see it gain a second permanent undersecretary — the department’s top job among civil servants — in addition to other high-profile personnel changes, Devex has learned.
Tim Barrow, FCDO’s political director, will take up a newly created permanent undersecretary position alongside Philip Barton, who currently holds the role. Barton has led the department since its creation in September 2020 but has received criticism for his conduct amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, during which he was on vacation.
FCDO’s reorganization appears to place a greater emphasis on harder-edged foreign policy issues, with at least two of the new roles dedicated to security. But there were also significant changes related to global development.
Nearly 100 DFID advisers have departed FCDO. Who has replaced them?
Fears are growing about the loss of development expertise from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Nick Dyer, currently FCDO’s special envoy for famine prevention and humanitarian affairs, will become director general for humanitarian and development issues, “with a particular focus on Ukraine for a transitional period while we run a recruitment process for a permanent appointment,” according to a message to staff members that was shared with Devex on Thursday. Dyer was previously permanent undersecretary at the Department for International Development before it was controversially merged with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 2020.
Moazzam Malik, FCDO’s director general for Africa, has resigned, according to the message. It said the former DFID official “has declined a role in this revised structure” but will continue in his current position “in the interim.”
“We will appoint a temporary DG Africa/Latin America in the coming weeks to cover the role while we make a long term appointment,” it added.
The resignation of Malik, a popular official with the U.K. development community, has already prompted disappointment from the sector.
“This is a terrible sign for the prospects of a genuinely integrated diplomatic and development department,” Ranil Dissanayake, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, wrote in a message to Devex. The so-called hybrid approach was the government’s stated rationale for the merger of DFID and FCO, but the new department has been under strain since its inception.
Dissanayake continued: “Moazzam is experienced in both realms, adept and highly rated in both, and has been constructive since day 1 of FCDO’s existence. If he doesn’t think the integrated department is living up to its promise, that’s an extremely strong and well informed signal that it isn’t.”
He added: “I strongly suspect that recent events and the preferences of the new Foreign Secretary have pushed development so far onto the backburner that it’s barely on the heat anymore.”
Kumar Iyer, who serves as director general for delivery at FCDO, will become the director general for economics and global issues, while Jenny Bates, director general for the Indo-Pacific, will take over responsibility for British International Investment — the development finance agency that is now known as CDC Group but is set to change its name in April.
Thomas Drew, who is currently director general for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, will take responsibility for defense and intelligence, coordinating the department’s work on Russia and Ukraine.
Exclusive: Over 200 ex-DFID staffers have left UK's FCDO since merger
There have been long-standing concerns about the U.K. government losing expertise as a result of DFID's merger into FCDO. Development experts say they worry these fears are now being realized.
“He will also take on responsibility for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate, while retaining his core national security responsibilities,” said the message to staff members, adding that he would be supported in the role by Vijay Rangarajan, director general for the Americas and overseas territories, who in turn will also work on international energy issues.
A temporary director general role is also being created under the banner of geopolitical and security issues, which will be carried out by Harriet Matthews, currently deputy political director and multilateral, sanctions, and strategic engagement director at FCDO.
In a statement to Devex, an FCDO spokesperson said the changes were in line with the department’s priorities and current events.
“The FCDO is expanding its senior team to deliver on the Foreign Secretary’s priorities and respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has altered the wider geopolitical landscape,” the spokesperson wrote. “It represents a paradigm shift which changes the context for the department’s work and achieving UK objectives.”
The spokesperson added that “FCDO structures are kept under constant review to ensure we deliver the Government's objectives and value for taxpayers.”
Update, March 17, 2022: This article has been updated to include comments from an FCDO spokesperson.
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
