For any ambassador a key part of the job is to keep in close touch with your political masters back home. You need to understand what London needs from the embassy and make sure London gets it. And also to make sure that London knows what is actually happening on the ground, what that means for the UK’s interests and objectives, and that the objectives set by London are grounded in reality.
You are also the senior representative of the United Kingdom in the country to which you are sent. To do the job properly you have to get out and about. You have to get to know the people who take the big decisions and the people who influence them. You have to earn their trust, and you have to learn how far to trust what they tell you. Building that trust can take years. It was clear that I was not going to have years. More like weeks.
Being an ambassador is not all about high politics and grand strategy. You are also responsible for running a complex organisation. A big part of the job is about your responsibilities to the people working for you.
Especially when working in a war zone, where the lives of your staff are at risk…