Posted by: Hannah Giles  |  Posted on: October 6th, 2017

As some of you will know, Dr Robert Hawley CBE, who attended our last AGM, has recently stood down as our Joint President after more than 10 years in the role. This followed several years as Chairman. In a message to me during the summer he wrote that ‘it has been a great privilege and a matter of pride to have been Joint President, and I only regret that recently I have been unable to participate more.’ We owe Robert a big thank you for his support over the years, and I am glad to say that he and his wife Pamela have accepted Honorary Life Membership of the Society.

I am very pleased to announce that Sir Stephen Brown, who preceded me as Chairman, has been a member for many years and is well known to many of you, has accepted an approach to step into Dr Hawley’s shoes. He is therefore now Joint President alongside Ambassador Hwang. He brings to the role a wealth of relevant experience and I am sure his appointment will be a big plus for the Society.

His CV and a message from him are below.

Sir Stephen Brown KCVO

Sir Stephen Brown was British ambassador to South Korea during the dramatic period between 1997 to 2000.  He advised the British government on how to assist the Republic of Korea overcome the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and to sustain the high level of bilateral trade and investment.  Following the election of President Kim Dae-jung, he worked to support the “Sunshine Policy” towards North Korea. He was part of the UK diplomatic team that negotiated diplomatic relations between UK and North Korea, seen as a step towards improving relations on the Korean peninsula.

Sir Stephen was born 1945 in Leeds, England, educated at Leeds Grammar School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.  He was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1965. He served as an artillery officer in Germany, Northern Ireland and Oman (Dhofar).  He read Asian history at Sussex University (1966-69).

In 1976, he joined the British Diplomatic Service.  He served initially in Nicosia, Paris, London and Melbourne; then in Beijing, where he helped strengthen the UK’s diplomatic and trade presence in China.

After serving in Seoul, he was British High Commissioner to Singapore before becoming Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment (2002-2005).

Currently, he is a senior advisor to Vermilion Partners, a founder member of The Ambassador Partnership and an active member of The Cook Society (UK-Australia relations). He is a governor of the Grammar School at Leeds.

Stephen and his wife Pam live in Ilkley in Yorkshire and have two adult children and four granddaughters.

“It is a great honour to be invited to be Joint President of the British Korean Society. I have always prized my links with Korea and its people. I look forwarded to expanding them in my new role and continuing to work closely with Korean and British friends.

 

I pay tribute to Dr Robert Hawley for his sterling efforts over many years as a member, chairman and most recently Joint President of the Society. I am sure that now as a Life Member he will continue to contribute to the Society’s success.I hope to meet many of you at our future events.”

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