5015 x 3706 px | 42,5 x 31,4 cm | 16,7 x 12,4 inches | 300dpi
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office. The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly abbreviated to Foreign Secretary (currently David Miliband). This position is regarded as one of the three most prestigious appointments in the cabinet, alongside those of Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary. Together with the Prime Minister, these comprise the Great Offices of State. The FCO was formed in 1968, from the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office. The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office, and the Commonwealth Relations Office had been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office and the India Office in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925. The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern and Northern Departments, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office.
