Introducing our FASC Patron
H M Ambassador Sarah Gillett,
Sarah Gillett is not only the current incumbent in a long line of British Ambassadors who have accepted the pleasurable and far-from-onerous task of being FASC patron, but also the first woman to hold this post. Before coming here she served in a variety of places all over the world, including Washington, Paris, Los Angeles, Brasilia and Montreal, and she also had several spells at the FCO in London.
FASC recently visited her, at the British Embassy in Berne, to find our more about her. She makes no secret of the fact that she is absolutely delighted to be here, and fully appreciates the privilege of having this fabulous job for the next four years or so. As Switzerland is the UK’s second most important trading partner after the USA (excluding the Commonwealth), there are a lot of issues to be discussed in a European context. “It’s important to see that relations between the UK and Switzerland are not taken for granted,” she smiles.
Sarah Gillett has wanted to be a diplomat since she was 13. Her first job was with the FCO as a section clerk, and since then she has steadily moved up through the ranks until this posting as Ambassador, which is her first. “I’ve been enormously lucky – I’ve had wonderful postings and have enjoyed them all.” Her main interest has always been in international issues: “We need to understand other parts of the world – the more they are interconnected the more you need diplomacy,” she said, mentioning Africa and the Far East as continents that need a lot of understanding.
I asked her what her most exciting posting was. “Highlighting any of them is difficult as they’re all different,” she replied, but she did mention “winning the peace in the Falklands within a reasonable relationship with Argentina”. She was also Desk Officer in the Central European Department of the FCO in 1991, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, where she described the situation as “a blank sheet of paper”.
While she speaks good French, Portuguese and Spanish, Sarah Gillett regrets that she speaks no German – yet, that is to say. Nor has she ever learned downhill skiing, but she does enjoy hiking, biking and cross-country skiing with friends (she’s a single lady) and admits to being “very good at après ski”!
Her personal message to FASC: “I admire and relate to your mission statement and hope you never forget it!” We wish her a very pleasant stay in Switzerland, and look forward to seeing her at some of our meetings.
HM Ambassador Sarah Gillett CMG CVO