Crawford Falconer

Sir Crawford Falconer
KCMG
Official portrait, 2017
Born
Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland[1]
NationalityBritish/New Zealander[2]
EducationVictoria University of Wellington, London School of Economics
OccupationTrade negotiator

Sir Crawford Dunlop Falconer KCMG (born 1954) is the United Kingdom's Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser and is based in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which employs about 200 trade negotiators. He was recruited to the Civil Service in 2017 during the run-up to Brexit. As well as leading trade negotiation, he is the Second Permanent Secretary for DBT.[3]

Falconer has served in variety of roles including the New Zealand Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and as New Zealand's Chief Negotiator and Adviser. Previous to his job in the Brexit trade negotiations he was Special Trade Commissioner for the Legatum Institute, a private think tank.[4]

In 2019 it was reported that despite the support of Conservatives in favour of Brexit, he had had little access to Prime Minister Theresa May.[5]

Three years later, as the Australia–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement was about to come into force, George Eustice, who had been part of the negotiating team as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, faulted the deal as "not actually a very good deal for the UK" in a speech to the House of Commons and blamed Falconer, calling him "not fit for that position, in my experience". Eustice said Falconer "always [internalised] Australian demands, often when they were against UK interests, his advice was invariably to retreat and make fresh concessions and all the while he resented people who understood technical issues greater than he did." He suggested Falconer be replaced.[6]

Falconer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to international trade.[7]

  1. ^ "Family pride as Greenock-born diplomat lands leading Brexit role". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Britain bags Kiwi to lead post-Brexit trade talks". POLITICO. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Crawford Falconer - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. ^ Government appoints Legatum’s Special Trade Commissioner, Crawford Falconer, as chief trade negotiator for post-Brexit deals.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "No 10's man closes door". The Times. February 2019. (subscription required)
  6. ^ Mason, Rowena (14 November 2022). "Flagship post-Brexit Australia trade deal 'not actually very good', MPs hear". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  7. ^ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N3.