Society 365 / 2014

GROSSBRITANNIEN
INTERVIEW
H.E. Susan le Jeune
d‘Allegeershecque and her
husband Stéphane in the
living room of the residence
➢
that in his capacity as leader of the Conservative
Party, David Cameron has promised to hold
a referendum on the UK’s EU membership if his
party wins a majority in the next general election.
But he has also said that, should there be a Referendum,
he would campaign for the UK to stay in.
As an Embassy we are committed to working on a
successful future for the EU. It is very clear to me
that the UK is better off in the EU and that the EU
is better off with the UK in it.
Having been a member of HM Diplomatic Service
for almost thirty years, what would you say
are your most important experiences? In which
way has diplomacy changed?
I would say that being a diplomat has certainly
become more demanding. For us, economic and
commercial diplomacy are now at the heart of
what we do. New technologies and the rise of social
media mean that our work is more transparent
than it used to be. While this is a magnificent opportunity
to reach new audiences, engage younger
people and to influence stakeholders in all corners
of the world, it also means that we are under much
more scrutiny and diplomatic slip ups are just a
couple of retweets away from global attention.
This is why, somewhat paradoxically, being a
successful diplomat still comes down to the key
diplomatic skills of mastering languages, effective
networking, getting under the skin of your host
country and being good at negotiating. The Foreign
Office has recognized this and has recently reopened
CURRICULUM
VITAE
.E. Susan le Jeune
d’Allegeershecque
Hjoined HM Diplomatic
Service in 1985. During her
career she was appointed
Economic, Commercial and
Press Officer of the British
High Commission in Singapore
(1992-95), Head of
the Personnel Management
Department at the Foreign
& Commonwealth Office
(1995-99), Deputy Head of
Mission at the British Embassy
in Caracas (1999-2002)
and in Bogota (2002-05),
Consul General at the British
Embassy in Washington D.C.
(2005-07) and Director of
Human Resources at the
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office. Since September
2012 she has been Ambassador
to Austria and UK Permanent
Representative to
UN and other International
Organisations in Vienna. She
is married to Stéphane, and
they have two sons.
its language school and soon will open a new Diplomatic
Academy to build the skills of all our staff.
One thing that I think is very positive is that
we have witnessed a steady rise of women in diplomacy.
At diplomatic functions in Vienna, there
are still only a handful of female Ambassadors
but I do notice that it’s getting better. The Foreign
Office has been successful in promoting women
in senior positions although there still is a lot of
work to be done. I spend a lot of time encouraging
younger female colleagues to be ambitious.
We will only know in late September, but what
would be the consequences of Scotland choosing
independence from Britain?
The UK is one of the most successful and longstanding
political, social and economic unions
in history, with a record of shared achievements
across all the regions and countries that make
up the UK. These close ties and shared history
mean the UK can project significant influence in
the world and face global challenges and risk by
pooling our talents and resources. But we are also
committed to the values of democracy and rule
by consent, and to handling debates over governance
and national identity through open debate
and the free expression of popular will, even if
that involves difficult choices and uncomfortable
debate. This September there will be a clear
choice in Scotland: partnership within the UK or
separation from it. I believe there is a very positive
case for the United Kingdom to stay together. The
Fotos: SOCIETY/Prochnow
40 | SOCIETY 1_2014