Dame Veronica Evelyn Sutherland, DBE, CMG (née Beckett; born 25 April 1939) is a former British career diplomat who served in the Diplomatic Service of the United Kingdom from 1965 until 1999, including a stint as Ambassador to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. After retirement, she was appointed President of the

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1965 as a women's college and since 2021 has admitted both women and men. The college is na ...

from 2001 until 2008.

Background

Born to Lt Col Maurice Beckett and Constance Cavenagh-Mainwaring, Sutherland spent more than thirty years in the Diplomatic Service in mainland Europe, Africa and Asia, serving as Ambassador in three countries in francophone West Africa as well as British delegate to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. After Sutherland's service in Ireland, she was appointed

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General The Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth assists the Secretary-General in managing the operations of the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is the central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current Deputy Secretary-General is Dr ...

with responsibility for economic and social affairs. She was the first woman to hold such a high ranking Commonwealth post. She took up her Commonwealth post in February 1999, succeeding Sir

Humphrey Maud Sir Humphrey John Hamilton Maud (17 April 1934 – 10 November 2013) was a British diplomat. Life Humphrey Maud was the son of the civil servant and diplomat John Redcliffe-Maud, Baron Redcliffe-Maud and his wife, the pianist Jean Hamilton ...

, KCMG, who was retiring. She was appointed CMG in the

1988 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in sup ...

and DBE in the

1998 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppleme ...

References

1939 births Women academic administrators British women ambassadors Commonwealth Deputy Secretaries-General Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people Presidents of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland Place of birth missing (living people) People_educated_at_the_Royal_School_for_Daughters_of_Officers_of_the_Army {{UK-diplomat-stub