Educated at
Ipswich High School for Girls, she took a
BA degree from the
University of Bristol and immediately joined the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985. She served in London and at the permanent representation to the European Union, the High Commission in
Singapore, and the embassies in
Venezuela,
Colombia, and the
United States. In 2007, she took over as Director of Human Resources at the Foreign Office, replacing
Sir David Warren. She served there for four years until 2011, when she was replaced by
Menna Rawlings. She then served as
British Ambassador to Austria from 2012 until 2016, a post which included serving as the UK's
permanent representative to the international organisations based in Vienna, such as the
United Nations. In November 2022, she was appointed an
Officer of the Order of St John having served as Secretary-General of the Order since December 2021 == References ==