Editing Prince Andrew, Duke of York (section)

===Special Representative for International Trade and Investment===
[[File:Ilham Aliyev met with Duke of York of the Great Britain, Prince Andrew.jpg|thumb|The Duke of York with Azerbaijani president [[Ilham Aliyev]], 2011]]
From 2001 until July 2011, Andrew worked with [[UK Trade & Investment]], part of the [[Department for Business, Innovation and Skills]], as the United Kingdom's [[Special Representative for International Trade and Investment]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14235330 "Prince Andrew to stand down as UK trade envoy"], BBC News, 21 July 2011</ref> The post, previously held by [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]], involved representing and promoting the UK at various trade fairs and conferences around the world.<ref name="Trade-ED"/> His suitability for the role was challenged in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] by Shadow Justice Minister [[Chris Bryant]] in February 2011, at the time of the [[2011 Libyan civil war]], on the grounds that he was "not only a very close friend of [[Saif al-Islam Gaddafi]], but also&nbsp;... a close friend of the convicted Libyan gun smuggler Tarek Kaituni".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12604190 "Duke of York must lose trade job, says Labour MP"], BBC News, 1 March 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Libyan gun smuggler was at Princess Eugenie's royal wedding |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/libyan-gun-smuggler-at-royal-wedding-tbtmgsnxb |work=[[The Times]] |date=15 October 2018 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Further problems arose as he hosted a lunch for [[Sakher El Materi]], a member of the corrupt Tunisian regime, at the Palace around the time of the [[Tunisian Revolution]].<ref name="Envoy-2011">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-12663378|title=Prince Andrew: Envoy career plagued with controversy|publisher=BBC|date=21 July 2011|access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> Andrew also formed a friendship with [[Ilham Aliyev]], the president of Azerbaijan who has been criticised for corruption and for abuses of human rights by [[Amnesty International]], and visited him both during and after his tenure as the UK trade envoy. As of November 2014, Andrew had met Aliyev, on 12 occasions.<ref name="Independent">{{cite news |last=Armitage |first=Jim |date=12 November 2014 |title=Duke of York to meet Azeri despot Ilham Aliyev for 12th time |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/duke-of-york-to-meet-azeri-despot-ilham-aliyev-for-12th-time-9857222.html |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |access-date=29 November 2014 }}</ref> The controversies, together with his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, made him step down from the role in 2011.<ref name="Envoy-2011"/>

Andrew did not receive a salary from the UK Trade & Investment for his role as Special Representative, but he went on expenses-paid delegations and was alleged to have occasionally used trips paid for by the government for his personal leisure, which earned him the nickname "Airmiles Andy" by the press.<ref name="Envoy-2011" /> On 8 March 2011, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' reported: "In 2010, the Prince spent £620,000 as a trade envoy, including £154,000 on hotels, food and hospitality and £465,000 on travel."<ref>{{cite news|first=Steven|last=Swinford|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8364871/Duke-of-York-costs-taxpayers-15m.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8364871/Duke-of-York-costs-taxpayers-15m.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Duke of York costs taxpayers £15m|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=7 March 2011|access-date=8 March 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>