- Embassy of the United States in London
The Embassy of the United States of America to the
Court of St James's is situated at the American Embassy London Chancery Building inGrosvenor Square ,Westminster ,City of Westminster ,London . The Londonembassy is one of the largest United States diplomatic buildings in the world, with a staff of 750 trailing onlyNew Delhi ,Moscow andMexico City in total personnel, though the new embassy in Baghdad will also be larger upon completion [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4894497.ece] . The building is the focal point for events relating to the United States held in theUnited Kingdom .History
The first American Embassy in London was situated in
Great Cumberland Place , later moving toPiccadilly ,Portland Place andGrosvenor Gardens . In 1938, the embassy was moved to1 Grosvenor Square (which now hosts part of the Canadian High Commission). During this time Grosvenor Square began to accommodate many U.S. government offices, including the headquarters ofGeneral Eisenhower and the European headquarters of theUnited States Navy . FollowingWorld War II , theDuke of Westminster donated land for a memorial to wartime PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt .The current U.S. Embassy building was constructed in the late 1950s, opening in 1960; it was designed by
Finnish American architectEero Saarinen . It is a nine-story building, of which three are below ground. A large gildedaluminum Bald Eagle with a wingspan of over 11 metres (35 feet) is situated on the roof of the chancery building, making it a recognizable London landmark.This embassy, aside from the U.S. embassy in Japan, is the only U.S. embassy situated on land that is not owned by the U.S. government. The land is leased from the
Duke of Westminster who, when asked if he would sell the land outright, responded that he would if the U.S. Government would return the land that belonged to his family in the U.S. before it was confiscated during the Revolutionary War. [The Guardian . [http://www.guardian.co.uk/ukresponse/story/0,11017,818905,00.html Fortress America]October 25 2002 .] Failed verification|date=October 2008Vietnam protests
In the 1960s a deteriorating security situation forced the U.S. government to significantly upgrade the security of the embassy building. The
Vietnam War drew large protests in London, which targeted the embassy building in Grosvenor Square. In 1968, a large protest forced London's police force, the Metropolitan Police, to close off Grosvenor Square to prevent demonstrators from storming the building. As a result of the protests, the embassy was closed off to public access.ecurity concerns
Security at the embassy was further tightened in the 1980s and 90s following successive attacks on U.S. embassies and
consulate s worldwide. However, it was after theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 that security was significantly increased. A massive security operation at the embassy has seen one side of Grosvenor Square closed to public access by car, and armed roadblocks are stationed outside the building. OnAugust 29 ,2002 a Swedish citizen ofTunisia n descent was arrested at theStockholm-Västerås Airport trying to board aRyanair Flight 685 destined forLondon Stansted Airport with a loaded gun in his luggage. Anonymous intelligence sources cited in the media claimed that the man was planning to hijack the aircraft and crash it into the United States embassy in London, using the rooftop eagle to identify it from the air. Sweden's Security Service, Säpo, denied the claims and called the reports "false information" [cite news|title=Hijack suspect had flight training in US|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article175451.ece|publisher=The Independent |date=2002-09-01|accessdate=2006-12-27] The man was subsequently cleared of all terrorism-related charges. [cite news|title=Sweden drops hijack inquiry|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2377641.stm|publisher=BBC News |date=2002-10-30|accessdate=2006-12-27]The security threat against the embassy has prompted the U.S. government to consider moving the embassy. Several British media outlets reported that the U.S government had wished to use
Kensington Palace as their embassy. This was apparently vetoed by the Queen, as several members of theBritish Royal Family , includingPrince Richard, Duke of Gloucester andPrince Edward, Duke of Kent , have their residencies there. The Embassy denied the reports. [BBC News . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3157759.stm US 'eyed royal palace']17 August 2003 .]Embassy sections
*Consular Section
**American Citizen Services
**Visa Services
*United States Commercial Service
**Liaison Office to European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
*Defense Attaché
*Foreign Agricultural Service
*Customs and Border Protection
*Public Affairs
*Office of Defense Cooperation
*Department of Homeland Security (Immigration)
*Internal Revenue ServiceThere are also American consulates general in
Belfast ,Northern Ireland andEdinburgh ,Scotland and a Welsh Affairs Office inCardiff ,Wales .taff
The current
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom isRobert Holmes Tuttle ; the Deputy Chief of Mission is Richard LeBaron.ee also
*
Winfield House - the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United KingdomReferences
External links
* [http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ Embassy of the United States - London]
* [http://www.buyusa.gov/uk/en/ US Commercial Service at the US Embassy, London]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/17/newsid_2818000/2818967.stm BBC News - "1968: Anti-Vietnam demo turns violent"]
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