Dame Barbara Janet Woodward (born 29 May 1961) is a British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and China expert. She is the current

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook *"Permanent", a song by Alex Lahey from ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', 2023 Other ...

, having previously served as British Ambassador to China from 2015 to 2020, the first woman to hold that position. Woodward undertook her undergraduate degree at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, Scotland, before going on to study international relations at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. She joined the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

in 1994 and has worked in China and Russia, and at the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

.Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE, profile
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

Early years

Barbara Janet Woodward was born to Arthur Claude Woodward (1921–1992) and Rosemary Monica Gabrielle Fenton"WOODWARD, Barbara Janet" (2012) in

Gipping Gipping is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around three miles north north-east of Stowmarket, in 2005 its population was 80. At the 2011 Census the popula ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, United Kingdom, on 29 May 1961. Her father served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as an officer of the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment Line infantry, of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the World War I, First and ...

, and won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for gallantry. He was later elected Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). Barbara Woodward was educated at South Lee School in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, Suffolk, and then at Saint Felix School, a co-educational, boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

, Suffolk. Woodward was then admitted to the

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1979 and read

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. She graduated in 1983 with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) degree. She taught English, first at

Nankai University Nankai University is a public university in Tianjin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Nankai University was establ ...

, and then at Hubei University, in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

between 1986 and 1988. She later learned and mastered Chinese. Her teacher in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

gave her the Chinese name Wu Baina (吴百纳 Wú Bǎinà)."英國首位女性駐華大使履新，29年前在中國教英語" (19 March 2015) In 1988, she went on to

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to further her studies on

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

, and obtained a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) degree.

Diplomatic career

Woodward joined the

(FCO) in 1994. She served in Russia from 1994 to 1998 as Second (and later First) Secretary, and in China from 2003 to 2009, first as Political Counsellor, then across the whole United Kingdom-China relationship as Deputy Head of Mission, including during the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. From 2011 to 2015 she was Director General for Economic and Consular Affairs at the FCO. In February 2015 she was appointed British Ambassador to China, the first woman to hold the position. She was succeeded in September 2020 by Caroline Wilson. In 2015, in a conversation with Lucy D'Orsi,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

said that Chinese officials "were very rude to the ambassador" (referring to Woodward), during an event at

Lancaster House Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion on The Mall, London, The Mall in the St James's district in the West End of London. Adjacent to The Green Park, it is next to Clarence House and St James ...

, London. Woodward was appointed

by the Foreign Secretary,

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...

, in 2020.

Personal life

Woodward's hobbies include

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, particularly competitive swimming and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. She is a member of the Otter Swimming Club in London and has previously served as its Honorary Secretary.

Awards

Woodward was included in the 1999 New Year Honours list and made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II when she was serving as the First Secretary to Moscow.Supplement to Issue 55354
, ''London Gazette'', 31 December 1998, p.24. In 2011, she was included in the

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

and made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for services to UK-China relations.Supplement to Issue 59808
, ''London Gazette'', 11 June 2011, p.13. In 2016, she was included in the

and made a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for services to UK-China relations.

Styles and honours

* Ms Barbara Woodward (1969–2006) * Ms Barbara Woodward OBE (1999–2011) * Ms Barbara Woodward CMG OBE (2011–2016) * Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE (2016–present)

Notes

References

English language

* ''The Diplomatic Service List''. Great Britain: H.M. Stationery Office, 2003. *
Descendants of John Roper-269323
, ''Genealogy Web Page of L. David Roper'', 13 April 2005. *
Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to China
, ''Foreign & Commonwealth Office: Press Release'', 6 August 2014. * "WOODWARD, Barbara Janet", ''Who's Who 2013''. London: A. & C. Black, 2012. *

, ''China Daily'', 6 February 2015. *
Barbara Woodward
, ''Linkedin'', retrieved on 24 March 2015. *
England & Wales births 1837-2006
, Genes Reunited, retrieved on 24 March 2015.

Chinese language

*
英任命新駐華大使，強調中英經貿往來
, BBC Chinese, 6 August 2014. *
英國首位女性駐華大使履新，29年前在中國教英語
, China News Service, 19 March 2015.

External links

*

, ''The Independent'', 1 March 2015. * ttps://jackson.yale.edu/study/ma/program/ Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs - M.A. in Global Affairs {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Barbara Living people 1961 births People educated at Saint Felix School Alumni of the University of St Andrews Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Permanent representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations British women ambassadors British diplomats in East Asia Academic staff of Nankai University Academic staff of Hubei University Officers of the Order of the British Empire Dames Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats