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

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and China expert. She is the current

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative to the United Nations, and in charge of the ''United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations'' (UKMIS). UK permanen ...

, 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 (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, Scotland, before going on to study international relations at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. She joined 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 ...

in 1994 and has worked in China, Russia, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and at 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 ...

.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 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 population remained less than 100 a ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as an officer of the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment 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 First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

, and won the

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

for gallantry. He was later elected

Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FRICS). Barbara Woodward was educated at South Lee School in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

, Suffolk, and then at

Saint Felix School Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed, independent, day and boarding school in Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational. History The school was founded in 1897 as a girl ...

, a co-educational, boarding

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

, Suffolk. Woodward was then admitted to the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1979 and read

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. She graduated in 1983 with an

undergraduate Master of Arts The degree of Master of Arts (MA; , ) in Scotland is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate degree. The degree can be either a three-year general or four-year ''Honours degree'' in humanities or social sciences, awarded by one of several ins ...

(MA Hons) degree. She taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, first at

Nankai University Nankai University (NKU or Nankai; ) is a national public research university located in Tianjin, China. It is a prestigious Chinese state Class A Double First Class University approved by the central government of China, and a member of the fo ...

, and then at

Hubei University Hubei University (), colloquially known in Chinese as Huda () was founded in 1931 and is as a key comprehensive university in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country ...

, in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

between 1986 and 1988. She later learned and mastered

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

. Her teacher in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to further her studies on

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

, and obtained a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

(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 also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. 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 Lucy Clare D'Orsi, (''née'' Copson; born December 1969) is a British police officer. Since March 2021, she has served as chief constable of British Transport Police. She was deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police Service, w ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 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. She was queen ...

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 in the St James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St James's Palace, and much of the site was once part of the palace complex. This ...

, London. Woodward was appointed

by the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

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

, in 2020.

Personal life

Woodward's hobbies include

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

, particularly

competitive swimming Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. 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 The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

list and made an Officer 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 British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presen ...

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 (1961–2006) * Ms Barbara Woodward OBE (1999–2011) * Ms Barbara Woodward CMG OBE (2011–2016) * Dame Barbara Woodward

DCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

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 British expatriates in China 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