International Newcastle congratulates and welcomes Professor Santiago Fouz Hernández, as the new Honorary Vice-Consul in Newcastle serving the North East of England.
Spain established a Consulate in Newcastle in 1851, which became a Vice-Consulate in 1943, but we have not had a Spanish Honorary Vice-Consul for the last twenty years. This appointment reflects Spain’s commitment to the growing and vibrant Spanish community in the region and our links with Spain – and we are delighted!
Spanish Honorary Vice-Consul in Newcastle for the North East
The Honorary Vice-Consul is a voluntary position, linked to the Consulate General in Edinburgh (part of the Spanish Embassy in the UK), which supports Spanish citizens living here. The Honorary Vice-Consul’s jurisdication is Tyne and Wear, Cleveland, Durham, Durham, Redcar, Hartlepool, Darlington, Stockton on Tees, Northumberland and Cumbria.
All of the main consular services for Spanish people living in the region are provided by the Consulate General in Edinburgh. These include processing passports, renewing identity cards, registration of citizens, legalisations and notarial deeds (click here for the full list of services).
We are excited to be working with the new Honorary Consul to explore and enhance our links with Spain and to celebrate the Spanish and Spanish speaking communities living in the City and region.
Professor Santiago Fouz Hernández’s ‘day job’ is Professor of Hispanic and Film Studies in Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures where his research focuses on Spanish cinema. Born in Galicia, in North-Western Spain, he moved to the UK in 1993 and has dual citizenship. He worked at Newcastle University and still lives in Newcastle, but has worked at Durham University for the last 22 years.
Amongst his many other activities and roles, he is a member of the University’s Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art which is due to open the new Spanish Gallery in partnership with the Auckland Project in Bishop Auckland later in the year.
Honorary Consuls in the North East
We are fortunate in the region to have a range of Honorary Consuls representing and supporting citizens from different countries. They have different duties, depending on which country they represent and information is provided in our Directory here (search ‘Consul’).
As International Newcastle, we are pleased to have the President of the North East’s Consular Corps on our Board – Eric Donjon, Honorary Consul for France. He provides invaluable input from a consular perspective and links with the other Honorary Consuls in the region. The Honorary Consuls also help with links through their country’s Embassies in the UK and contacts which support our international work.