= Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office = The '''Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office''' ('''FCDO''') is the foreign [[UnitedKingdom/Ministries|ministry]] of the British government. <> ---- == Composition == The office is led by the secretary of state for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, more commonly known as the foreign secretary. The office is managed by the permanent under secretary (PUS) of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. They are a civil servant and concurrently serve as the head of '''His Majesty's Diplomatic Service''' ('''HHDS'''). ---- == History == In 1782, [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeIII|George III]] and [[UnitedKingdom/CharlesWatsonWentworth|Watson-Wentworth]] reformed the [[UnitedKingdom/NorthernDepartment|Northern]] and [[UnitedKingdom/SouthernDepartment|Southern Departments of State]]; they were replaced with the '''Home Office''' and '''Foreign Office''' ('''FO'''). In 1968, the '''Commonwealth Office''' was merged into the FO to establish the '''Foreign and Commonwealth Office''' ('''FCO'''). In 2020, the FCO and the '''Department for International Development''' ('''DFID''') were merged to establish the '''Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office''' ('''FCDO'''). ---- CategoryRicottone