Lord Mandelson has been appointed the United Kingdom’s new ambassador to the United States of America. He will begin work as ambassador early in 2025.
This Insight looks at how ambassadors and high commissioners are appointed in the UK.
Selection of candidates
Ambassadors and high commissioners are official representatives of the UK to other states. They are appointed by the King under the royal prerogative. This means such appointments (unlike appointments to some other senior roles) are not made according to rules set out in legislation, and there is no formal role for Parliament.
High commissioners represent the UK in the 55 countries which are members of the Commonwealth, and ambassadors represent the UK to countries outside the Commonwealth.
Under section 10 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, senior roles in the UK Diplomatic Service are excepted from the requirement that appointments must be made “on merit on the basis of fair and open competition”.
Most ambassadors or high commissioners are “career diplomats” – long-serving members of the UK’s Diplomatic Service – but there is nothing preventing individuals with political backgrounds also being appointed. The US post has sometimes been filled in this way, for example, by David Ormsby-Gore (a former Conservative minister) and John Freeman (a Labour-supporting journalist) between 1961 and 1971. More controversially, in 1977 the then Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan recommended his son-in-law Peter Jay for the position.
More recently, Edward Llewellyn (a former chief of staff to Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron) was appointed ambassador to France in 2016 (he is currently ambassador to Italy), while Sir George Hollingbery (a former Conservative MP) became ambassador to Cuba in 2022. The former Labour ministers Paul Boateng and Helen Liddell also served as High Commissioners to South Africa and Australia respectively between 2005 and 2009.
Appointment of diplomats
Once an individual has been selected, the Foreign Secretary (with the Prime Minister’s approval for senior postings) makes a formal submission to the King recommending their appointment. This is written in the third person and reads:
The Rt Hon [name of Foreign Secretary], with [their] humble duty to Your Majesty, has the honour respectfully to submit for Your Majesty’s approval that, subject to Agrément being successfully obtained from the Government of the [name of country], [name of individual] be appointed Your Majesty’s Ambassador to the [name of country] in succession to [name of previous ambassador].
Enclosed with this submission are details of the candidate’s career.
The King indicates his approval by writing “Appd” (Approved) and his initials at the top of the ministerial submission.
“Agrément” is the agreement by a state to receive an ambassador from another country. Once this has been completed – though it can often take some time – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will issue a “Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador” press release with the new ambassador’s career history and the date on which he or she will take up their appointment.
Ambassadors and high commissioners to non-Realm Commonwealth countries are also issued with a Diplomatic Commission granted by the King under the Royal Sign Manual (the Monarch’s signature) and signet (a small Foreign Office seal), formally appointing them to the role. This is also signed by the Foreign Secretary. Non-Realm countries are the 33 Commonwealth nations which are either republics or have their own separate monarchies.
Following this, the new ambassador or high commissioner has an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace which is recorded in the Court Circular. Ambassadors are said to “kiss hands” upon their appointment (although they do not literally do so); high commissioners do not. By custom, the King also receives the diplomat’s partner, if applicable.
Letters of Credence
Newly appointed ambassadors receive Letters of Credence (again under the Royal Sign Manual). These are presented to the monarch or president of the country to which they have been sent alongside Letters of Recall concerning their predecessor. Letters of Credence take several different forms depending on the country.
High commissioners to republics within the Commonwealth also present Letters of Credence, but those to Commonwealth Realms (where the head of state is also the King) do not, for the King cannot send an ambassador to himself. Instead, the prime ministers of the respective Realms exchange Letters of Introduction regarding the appointment.
Ambassadors to non-Commonwealth countries with monarchies are not sent to the country of the monarch in question, but to his or her “court”. On the same basis, all foreign ambassadors to the UK are accredited to the Court of St James’s.
UK high commissioners to Commonwealth countries are formally titled “The High Commissioner for His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom”, while UK ambassadors to non-Commonwealth countries are styled “His Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador”.
Diplomatic immunity
These are governed by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). The relevant provisions of these conventions apply in UK law via section 2 of the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and section 1 of the Consular Relations Act 1968.
Article 29 of the VCDR states that:
The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.
The VCDR and VCCR oblige members of a diplomatic mission and their families to respect the laws and regulations of their host country.
UK ambassadors and high commissioners are also subject to the statutory Diplomatic Service Code, which sets out the standards of behaviour expected of members of the diplomatic service.
By custom, the King and Queen and other members of the Royal Family welcome more than 500 members of the UK Diplomatic Service to the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace for an annual diplomatic reception. Members of the Diplomatic Corps also attend the annual State Opening of Parliament.
About the author: Dr David Torrance is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in monarchy and the constitution.
Photo by: Tony Baggett via Adobe Stock