Iona Thomas is a British diplomat who serves as the

British High Commissioner to New Zealand The High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to New Zealand is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in New Zealand, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in New Zealand. As the United Kingdom and New Zealand are fellow memb ...

, and the

Governor of Pitcairn The Governor of PitcairnWhile the territory is commonly called 'Pitcairn Islands', the official title of the office of her governor is 'Governor of Pitcairn' under section 27(1) of the Pitcairn Constitution Order, 2010''. is the representative ...

. Thomas did a bachelor’s in literae humaniores at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and a masters in economics at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. In August 2022 Thomas took up the position of British High Commissioner to New Zealand, succeeding

Laura Clarke Laura Mary Clarke (born 3 June 1978) is the CEO of ClientEarth a global non-profit environmental law organisation. She is a former British diplomat, who served as the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, and the Governor of Pitcairn. Bio ...

. She was Political Counsellor at the British Embassy in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and has served in diplomatic posts in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

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 ...

in New York. Before joining 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 ...

she held posts in the civil service. In June 2018 Thomas was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to British foreign policy.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century British diplomats British women ambassadors High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to New Zealand Governors of Pitcairn Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-diplomat-stub