FOLLOWING 12 MONTHS of celebrations as the world’s oldest magazine for diplomats, Diplomat magazine comes to the end of its 65th anniversary year. From regime change to climate change, we’ve tracked all the developments at the Court of James’s for over six decades. We finished these 12 months with a wonderful exhibition of four years of cover art, held at the Chris Beetles Gallery (see page 62) earlier this month.

What a year it’s been! Thankfully, after all the doom and gloom of the economy, the Olympics, Paralympics and Jubilee gave us a feel-good summer to remember. The wettest summer in history didn’t dampen our spirts as London took on its role as party giver extraordinaire. The British gloated over Super Saturday, marvelled at the monarch jumping out of a helicopter – and even more surprisingly, strangers started talking to each other on the tube. Elsewhere in the world, the Middle East continued to implode: a bloody civil war escalated in Syria and the Gaza conflict flared up again. In the US, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc, but also helped to blow President Obama back into office and scandal rocked China’s Communist Party. Yet, for that long, extraordinary summer most divisions were forgotten. And with the recent announcement of a new heir to the throne, and the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation, there’s plenty more to look forward to in 2013.

Diplomat is grateful to have a number of Heads of Mission writing for us this month. The Ambassador of Uzbekistan reflects on the 20th anniversary of his country’s constitution,while Ukraine’s Ambassador celebrates his country’s 2013 Chairmanship of the OSCE. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan also writes for us to mark his country’s 21st Anniversary of Independence.

As always, Diplomat reviews the credentials of new heads of mission to the Court of St James’s, this month meeting with the Ambassadors of Croatia and Poland. For our series of photographic portraits, we feature Her Excellency Mrs Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, High Commissioner for Jamaica.

In the lifestyle section, Diplomat explores Cambodia, discovering the unshaking resolve of the people to restore their glorious nation following the horrors caused by the Khmer Rouge. We also enjoy the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London’s ‘Christmas Experience.’ Readers with a taste for culture will find valuable advice in our book and art reviews, including details of the intriguing Francesco Clemente exhibition at Blain Southern.