Image Source: AI generated, scroll down to the bottom for more information
Donations keep this site going. If you like what I’m doing here and think this work is important to the independence movement, consider a donation. One-off or monthly; as little or as much as you want. Click the links below, or full details are available here.
What Happens Now?
The UK’s diplomatic service is part of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Ambassadors, high commissioners and consuls-general are usually either experienced diplomatic staff or ex-politicians. They’re recommended for a position by the UK’s Foreign Secretary and are officially appointed by the monarch with a Diplomatic Commission1. They have diplomatic immunity under international law and are expected to behave according to the UK’s Diplomatic Code.
Most diplomatic service jobs are graduate-entry, forming part of the UK’s civil service fast stream2. There are British citizenship and residency requirements too.
Post-graduate training for new diplomatic staff takes five years. The first two years are usually on placement at one of the FCDO’s offices in London and Glasgow, with years 3-5 involving postings overseas at a UK diplomatic mission. Language training is provided from the second year onwards.
Does This Work for Wales?
There’s no issue with the quality or reach of the UK’s diplomatic service. As is the case with all things foreign affairs it’s a question as to whether Welsh interests are being represented.
On that level, it can’t work because Wales doesn’t have any diplomats (unless you want to count the Welsh Government’s overseas office staff). No “devolution unit” can make up for the impact full diplomatic relations as an independent country has.
The First Minister told the Senedd’s Culture Committee in June 2025 that there were two Welsh people working in senior positions within FCDO team (video). There’s also a devolution unit. While this would no doubt be helpful, it won’t always be the case that there are Welsh people in senior positions within the UK Government and it’s nothing compared to having a Welsh foreign office.
Much like anything at the top of UK politics, there’s a class issue. If you glance at a selection of profiles of current UK ambassadors and high commissioners, they are more likely than not to have been privately educated and attended Oxbridge or other Russell Group universities.
A Welsh Diplomatic Service: Pros & Cons
The obvious one is that Wales would have more people representing our interests in more countries – not just in the usual suspects like the US.
Working in a Welsh diplomatic service would be a unique and lucrative graduate-level role that wouldn’t normally be available to people living in Wales (or something many in Wales would consider applying for).
Given how competitive the application process is to join the UK’s diplomatic service, it would – on paper – be far easier for someone in Wales to become a Welsh diplomat than it would for them to become a UK diplomat under the current system.
Welsh ambassadors can reflect modern Wales. We’re likely to have fewer privately educated ambassadors who attended elite universities.
There’s an opportunity to innovate and think carefully about what a diplomatic service should look like in the digital age (based on reports by the Welsh Centre for Public Policy and others).
Wales has well-respected academic departments for teaching international relations (Aberystwyth, Swansea, Cardiff). With some joined-up thinking, there’s the potential to create a genuinely world-class diplomatic training programme.
We lose access to the UK’s diplomatic service and global network of diplomatic missions. Wales would have to start from scratch.
Some high-level diplomats may end up “twiddling their thumbs” if we don’t have a strong interest in the host country and don’t have much to do. This makes the argument for a smaller network of diplomatic missions stronger, but this would limit the global reach of Wales.
Related to that, there’s a risk that ambassadorial posts become part of the “revolving door” in politics. Posts end up being handed out based on relationships or rewards/treats for political service rather than any actual skill or local knowledge.
If Wales doesn’t have enough qualified candidates, we could end up with a diplomat shortage, or become too reliant on dual citizens (or even first-generation immigrants who don’t hold Welsh citizenship).
The number of students studying modern foreign language GCSE and A-Levels in Welsh schools has long been in decline3.
Some posts overseas will be more sought after than others, potentially leading to a staff retention problem if junior diplomatic staff don’t get their preferred posting.
What Do Other Countries Do?
The Irish diplomatic service is graduate-only and forms part of civil service recruitment (Public Appointments Service).
Irish ambassadors are nominated for posts by the Irish foreign minister and approved by the Irish Government. They’re formally appointed by the President of Ireland.
Junior diplomatic staff are generally divided into foreign policy, corporate and development roles. It’s graduate-entry, with Maori language skills or cultural knowledge being desirable.
Much like the UK, ambassadors and high commissioners tend to be experienced civil servants. They’re appointed by New Zealand’s foreign minister.
Estonian diplomatic staff are hired as part of general civil service recruitment, though they also they also run an internship scheme for second year university students studying a foreign affairs-related subject.
The President of Estonia appoints ambassadors based on the recommendations of the government. Some ambassadors are responsible for more than one country.
There’s a training course for people seeking a senior career in foreign affairs (Kavaku). This lasts between 18 and 36 months and is selective (applicants need to pass tests). Applicants need to be full Finnish citizens, hold a masters degree and be proficient in at least one of nine foreign languages (in addition to Finnish).
Additionally, there’s a post-graduate course for those seeking an administrative or consular role (Halku). The Ministry for Foreign Affairs also offer internships for university students.
Ambassadors are appointed by the President of Finland. Finland also makes use of “roving ambassadors” who represent multiple countries at the same time.
What Options Does Wales Have?
A dedicated undergraduate degree for students wanting a senior role in the diplomatic service, likely to be offered either alongside, or as a replacement for, current international relations degrees. This could include a year-long placement and/or foreign language courses.
This should mean that graduates would be ready to join a Welsh diplomatic service immediately following university without needing much more additional training.
Welsh citizens who already live abroad may be ready-made ambassadors and high commissioners. If they’re willing and meet the requirements this may make it easier to fill key posts immediately following independence.
This has been previously recommended, in part, by the Welsh Centre for Public Policy. One embassy/high commission would cover multiple countries. This would increase the number of countries Wales could have full diplomatic relations with – and cut down on the cost of running embassies – though travel costs and staff expenses would increase.
As suggested in the post on embassies, Wales could have a single high commissioner and consular service covering all of the Caribbean nations (presumably based in Jamaica). We could also have specialist teams focusing on international development, trade/investment and crisis management based at a major embassy at continental or regional level and moving around where needed.
t would be a good idea to rotate postings at less-lucrative diplomatic missions so Welsh diplomats do at least get a better chance of spending some time in their “preferred” embassy, high commission or consulate. This may help retain diplomatic staff for a longer period of time.
The standard practice is for senior diplomats to be appointed by the head of state based on the recommendations of the government.
An independent Wales could add more democratic accountability by allowing the relevant Senedd committee to hold confirmation hearings.
What's at Stake?
The overall score (out of 20) is the total of the scores for the four mini-categories (out of 5 each).
How Would This Be Run?
It would be part of the remit of a Welsh foreign department (or equivalent) and whoever is responsible for foreign affairs in the Welsh Government.
Consular services would be scrutinised by the relevant Senedd committee.
It’s standard practice for diplomats (ours and those of other countries) to work to a Diplomatic Code or Protocol. This operates similarly to the Ministerial Code and the Code of Conduct for elected politicians.
How Much Will This Cost?
Headline: A share of Wales’ foreign office spending. If we wanted to match Ireland this would be up to £280 million per year.
The actual figure would depend on how much we want to spend on our foreign policy goals, how many diplomatic missions we would have and how many diplomatic staff we would expect to recruit and train.
Would any new taxes need to be introduced?
No.
Who will pay for this?
General taxation (all taxpayers), as part of civil service recruitment. Graduate/trainee diplomats would pay for some of it themselves through tuition fees (if an independent Wales keeps tuition fees).
How Long Would This Take?
Senior diplomats/ambassadors would be appointed gradually as we start formal diplomatic relations with other countries. Junior posts would likely be filled from the current civil service (where possible).
The first intake of Welsh-trained diplomats would likely come through within the first 3-5 years of independence.
People & Work
Undergraduates studying relevant subjects at university (international relations, human geography, languages, history, anthropology, politics, economics, business) and people in Wales who would already meet the job description.
This would be tied to the creation of a Welsh diplomatic service and embassy network, so potentially up to 700 posts overseas (based on the previous post) and maybe a similar number created as part of a Welsh foreign department at home.
You Might Also Like....
UK Parliament, House of Commons Library (20th December 2024). “How are diplomats appointed”.
Civil Service Fast Stream, Diplomatic and Development Scheme
British Council, Language Trends Wales.
The title image was generated using ComfyUI and the FLUX1 model.
