TNAG-1874-FCO40-2665-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-other-British-Dependent-Terr-1989 — Page 91

MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE

}

Α

or his

should be Senior Grade (SP3), and should preferably have a knighthood. I accept that there is a lot in what Mr Scott presents as the special skills required of a Governor and that many of these do not come naturally to the DS officer - wife. For the foreseeable future the military Governor will need a small FCO staff, thus in effect making the post more similar to a mini-mission in FCO administrative terms than a

one-man post.

Gibraltar's Position. I was stuck reading Mr Scott's papers

by the isolation of the Caribbean Governor. I do not think that this affects Governors of Gibraltar. In the first place, they play an important part in the formulation of major policy. issues between Britain and Spain, as well as between Britain

and the territory. They are thus much more in touch politically with mainstream British policies in Europe. This reflects the fact that Gibraltar is not a small island in the

Caribbean, but part of the EC and a significant NATO facility.

As we move towards 1992 and all that, so the Governor's role in

Gibraltar will become more important (and immediately so for

HMG - Gibraltar's failure to honour EC obligations lands

Britain before the ECJ, and not Gibraltar). I also have the

general impression (not founded on any specific evidence) that the complex of Spain's importance to Britain, the existence of

the sovereignty dispute, and the various EC/NATO issues in

which these inter-play, mean that policies adopted by the

Gibraltar Government have a much more immediate affect on HMG's

policies in important parts of our overall foreign policy objectives,

FROM

For these reasons, I think that the qualities demanded of the

Governor of Gibraltar are somewhat different to those usually

demanded of a Governor. I attach a copy of a letter from the PUS to

Sir Michael Quinlan, which sets out the FCO requirements for

candidates to succeed the present Governor of Gibraltar.

3. We have been interested to watch WIAD's initiatives on

harmonising Governors' Conditions of Service etc. from the

side-lines. Our lack of direct involvement has been motivated not

G55ABA 2

MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE