Dame Anne Warburton (8 June 1927 – 4 June 2015) was a British diplomat who was the first female British

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

. She served as

British Ambassador to Denmark The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Denmark is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Denmark, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Denmark. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom ...

from 1976 to 1983 and British Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva from 1983 to 1985. Having retired from her diplomatic career, she was President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge University from 1985 to 1994.

Career

Anne Marion Warburton was educated at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and Somerville College, Oxford University. She worked at the London office of the

Economic Cooperation Administration The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a fo ...

(1949–1952), at the NATO Secretariat, then located in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(1952–1954) and for

Lazard Brothers Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's la ...

in London (1955–1957). In 1958, she entered the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

in Branch A (the senior branch) and, after two years at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, was posted to the UK Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

(1959–1962) during which she was promoted to First Secretary. She served at the British embassy at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

(1962–1965) and then in the newly-created Diplomatic Service Administration Office in London (1965–1967). She then moved back to the Foreign Office, which became the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

(FCO) in 1968, until 1970 when she was posted as Counsellor to the UK's Geneva Mission to the

. After a further period at the FCO as head of the Guidance and Information Policy Department (1975–1976), she was appointed British Ambassador to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in April 1976 and remained there until 1983. Warburton was the first female British ambassador. Although

Barbara Salt Dame Barbara Salt, (30 September 1904 – 28 December 1975) was a British diplomat. Salt was born in Oroville, California to Reginald Salt, an English banker and his wife, Maud, who returned to England not long after her birth. She was the gra ...

had been appointed ambassador-designate to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1962, she was unable to proceed to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

because of a serious illness and so did not take up the post.

Eleanor Emery Eleanor Emery, CMG (23 December 1918 – 22 June 2007) was High Commissioner to Botswana from 1973 to 1977: the first British woman to reach that rank. She was born in Glasgow but educated at Western Canada High School; and the University of ...

was British High Commissioner to Botswana from 1973 to 1977, corresponding to an ambassador but within the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

. After leaving Denmark, Warburton was ambassador and UK permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva (1983–1985). She was deputy leader of the UK delegation to the third UN World Conference on Women at

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

in July 1985, which closed the

United Nations Decade for Women The United Nations Decade for Women was a period from 1975 to 1985 focused on the policies and issues that impact women, such as pay equity, gendered violence, land holding, and other human rights. It was adopted December 15, 1975, by the United ...

. She retired from the Diplomatic Service and was president of

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. Hist ...

(1985–1994). Concurrently, she was a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission (1986–1988), of the

Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...

(1994–1997), and of the Council of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

.Anne Warburton
, Somerville College, Oxford Warburton led a

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

investigative mission into the treatment of Muslim women in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, which reported in January 1993. She died on 4 June 2015 at her home near

Eye, Suffolk Eye () is a market town and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about south of Diss, north of Ipswich and south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 Census of 2,154 was estimated to be 2,361 in 2019. It lies ...

, and is buried in the nearby churchyard of St Mary's in

Thornham Parva Thornham Parva is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located to the north of sister village Thornham Magna and around five miles south of Diss, in 2005 its population was 50. By the time of the 2 ...

Publications

* ''Paying for NATO : how common finance can help the defence of the West'' (with John B. Wood), Friends of Atlantic Union, London, 1956 * ''Signposts to Denmark'', Hernov, Copenhagen, 1992. ()

Honours

Anne Warburton was appointed CVO in 1965 and CMG in 1977. She was made Dame Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 1979. She was an Honorary Fellow of her alma mater,

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

, and of

awarded her a

Barnard Medal of Distinction The following is a list of notable individuals associated with Barnard College through attendance as a student, service as a member of the faculty or staff, or award of the Barnard Medal of Distinction. Notable alumnae Academics and scientists ...

. The West German government awarded her the '' Verdienstkreuz'' (Merit Cross), 1st Class, in 1965 for her service at Bonn. She also held the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

(Denmark) and the ''Lazo de Dama'' (Dame's Ribbon) of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

(Spain).WARBURTON, Dame Anne (Marion)
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

References

External links

''The Telegraph'', London, 9 June 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Warburton, Anne Marion 1927 births 2015 deaths Barnard College alumni Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford British women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Presidents of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic People associated with the University of East Anglia Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford