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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

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6th March 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

James Bond, conspiracy theories and the Welsh Secret Service

Amongst the snippets of “what will happen in 2015?” news earlier this year I saw one piece of news sure to please many people. A new James Bond 007 Film, “Spectre”, will launch in November. People are fascinated by secret services.  Some are more secret than others.  My blog of December 2010, “I can burn […]

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20th February 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

UK and Turkey: doing good business

Next week promises to be a big week for UK-Turkish trade and investment. Lord Livingston, the British Minister of State for Trade and Investment, will visit Turkey from 22-25 February.  The Minister will open a GREAT Technology event; hold formal high-level talks with Trade Minister Zeybekci; meet British investors in Turkey, and Turkish investors in […]

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18th February 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Business in Turkey: the rules of the game

British people are often accused of using too many sporting metaphors.  Expression such as “a good innings” (doing well but nearly finished) or “a sticky wicket” (a hard-to-defend situation) come from cricket.  Others, eg “game, set and match” (the contest has ended) or “ the ball’s in your court” (it’s up to you to make […]

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6th February 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

#REASONSTOLIKEISTANBUL: My Top 5 Tips

A conservatively-dressed couple sit quietly in a park, kissing.  A valet pilots Range Rovers outside a posh business restaurant.  A transvestite burlesque dancer belts out a song to a packed house of, mostly, women.  A pale new moon rises over a mosque between two skyscrapers.  A band of pigeon-fanciers clusters round a wooden cage of […]

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4th February 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Helping to build Istanbul’s Grand Airport and keep it safe

I work for UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). UKTI is the part of the British Government which helps British companies to trade internationally, and which helps overseas companies to set up shop and invest in the UK. International trade is one of the best ways to help countries become more stable and prosperous. Check out […]

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31st January 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Turkey 2023: why the UK welcomes Turkish success

Let’s imagine a Turkey almost 10 years from now, in 2023. The years since 2015 have been tough for the Turkish economy, as for all countries. But the people of Turkey have risen magnificently to the challenge. By 2023, buoyed by high rates of economic growth for each of the last eight years, nominal GDP has more […]

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23rd January 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Top Turkish entrepeneurs – in London

Take five brilliant Turkish entrepreneurs. Add Turkish and British venture capitalists, round-trip tickets to London, consultancy services by accountants and lawyers on setting up in the UK, work visas and tax issues; mentoring sessions; and a guided tour of London’s “Tech City” technology hub.  Mix thoroughly and turn out. Result: a host of terrific business […]

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19th December 2014

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Festive 50: From “Every Little Bit Hurts" To "Stay With Me"

It’s a delicate business judging how much personal stuff to put in a blog.  In the past I’ve written official blogs with a rich mix of personal and work entries.  Then Twitter came along and much personal material, such as my famous series #reasonstolikeIstanbul, was swept away into the Twitterverse. I’ve so far tweeted out […]

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16th December 2014

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

How to get (even) more investment in Turkey

I recently had the honour to speak on a panel at a Financial Times Conference on International Financial Centres in Istanbul. The conference included an interesting presentation by Turkey’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT) on Turkey’s powerful economic fundamentals and the potential benefits for foreign businesses in investing here. British companies have been paying […]

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2nd December 2014

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Turkey, the EU and NATO

I wrote a blog last year called “Why Turkey can be confident”. The point of that blog was to say that, given that Turkey was a large country with a trillion-dollar economy playing an influential role in world affairs, I couldn’t understand why some people argued that events inside Turkey were determined to a large […]

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About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.