Jan Thompson (born 25 August 1965 in

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011. Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

) is a British diplomat, who since April 2023 has served as the

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

. She served previously as British Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2017, and as British Deputy High Commissioner to India from 2018 to 2023.

Career

Thompson attended

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

where she studied French and German. She spent two years working for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and then 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 ...

(FCO) in 1990. She started her career as desk officer for El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica at the Latin America Department, was seconded in 1991 to serve in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and had her first posting as second secretary (political) at the British Embassy in

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 ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

from 1992 to 1994. After a period as head of the Eastern Adriatic Unit at the FCO from 1994 to 1997, she served three years at the UK Permanent Representation to the United Nations New York as First Secretary responsible for the Security Council. Returning to the FCO in 2000, she was deputy head of the United Nations Department (2000-2002), then Head of the Afghanistan Group (2002-2005). A brief spell as head of the British Embassy Office in

Phuket, Thailand Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

in 2005 was cut short when she was brought back to help with the 2005 G8 summit in Scotland. She was programme director for the comprehensive spending review at the FCO from 2005 to 2007. In 2007 she was appointed UK lead negotiator for the International Climate Negotiations leading up to the Poznan 2008 and Copenhagen 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conferences. After briefly leading a strategic defence and security review team at the FCO in 2010, she was head of the Libya unit at the FCO in 2011 (due to the ongoing

2011 Libyan civil war The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...

), then project leader for a Future of FCO Climate Diplomacy project. Thompson was appointed UK Ambassador to the Czech Republic in 2013, serving in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

until 2018. She was temporarily deputy High Commissioner to Canada in 2018, before she was appointed Deputy High Commissioner to India that year. During her fiver years in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, she was acting British High Commissioner for a year. Thompson was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George 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. ...

(CMG) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to British foreign policy.

References

1965 births Living people Members of HM Diplomatic Service Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Czech Republic Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats {{UK-diplomat-stub