Julie Louise Jo "Jules" Chappell (born 2 April 1978) is a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

from 2009 to 2012. At age 31, she was Britain's youngest-ever ambassador.

Early life and education

Chappell was born in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

and raised in

Shapwick, Dorset Shapwick is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour five miles south-east of Blandford Forum and eight miles north of Poole. The village had a population of 190 in 2001. Within the parish, about a mil ...

, and won a scholarship to St Swithun's School, Winchester. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, graduating with a BA degree in 1999. She was captain of Oxford University women's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

team and went on to represent England at lacrosse, winning a bronze medal at the under-19s world championship in the USA.

Career

After graduating, Chappell 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 2003 she was posted to

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the list of largest cities in the Arab world, second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the ...

, as a member of the Coalition's governance team after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. She was appointed OBE in 2004 "in recognition of services to the reconstruction of Iraq and towards its transition to democracy." In 2008, Chappell was appointed to be British ambassador to

, and also non-resident ambassador to

and

. She took up her post in Guatemala on 28 May 2009 becoming, at the time, the United Kingdom's youngest ever ambassador at the age of 31. During her time in Guatemala, Chappell made issues surrounding domestic violence in the country a key part of her mission. In 2012, Chappell led the GREAT Britain campaign and Emerging Powers department at the FCO, promoting the United Kingdom as a destination for international trade and tourism, subsequently being awarded a Civil Service Award for her work. A year later, in 2013, she won a Women of the Future for the Public Sector award. in 2014, Chappell left the FCO and joined Hawthorn Advisors, a London-based communications firm specialising in finance and corporate strategy, as head of international relations. She later became a partner. She is now managing director, business, at

London and Partners London & Partners (L&P) is the promotional company for the city of London, England. History It was set up by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on 1 April 2011. It is a PPP and not-for-profit business focused on promotion of London driving jobs a ...

. Since leaving the FCO she has styled herself "Jules Chappell". Since July 2017, Chappell has been an Advisory Board Member of the St James's Roundtable at

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

. She continues her promotion of women in the business and financial world; in 2016, she was named a World Economic Forum

Young Global Leader Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. The YGL, a non-profit organization managed from Geneva, Switzerland, is under the supervision of the Swiss government ...

. She is currently managing director, business, at

Personal life

Chappell is married and lives in London with her two twins, Lily and Charlotte. Chappell regularly participates in sport and is currently a member of the Clapham Lacrosse Premiership team, having the highest scoring rate of the team for the 2017/2018 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Julie 1978 births Living people People educated at St Swithun's School, Winchester Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Guatemala Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to El Salvador Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Honduras