Barbara Woodward

Dame Barbara Janet Woodward DCMG OBE (Chinese: 吴百纳, born 29 May 1961) is a British diplomat and China expert.[1] She is the current Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations. She served as the British Ambassador to China from February 2015 to August 2020, and was the first woman to hold this position.

Her Excellency

Dame Barbara Woodward

DCMG CMG OBE
吴百纳
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
Assumed office
6 August 2020
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byDame Karen Pierce
British Ambassador to China
In office
19 February 2015 – 7 August 2020
MonarchElizabeth II
PresidentXi Jinping
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Theresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded bySir Sebastian Wood
Succeeded byCaroline Wilson
Personal details
Born
Barbara Janet Woodward

(1961-05-29) 29 May 1961
Gipping, Suffolk, England
ResidenceBeijing, China
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
Yale University
Barbara Woodward
Traditional Chinese吳百納
Simplified Chinese吴百纳

Woodward undertook her undergraduate degree at the University of St Andrews, Scotland before going on to study International Relations at Yale University.

Woodward joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1994. She has worked in China, Russia, the EU, and at the UN. From 2003 to 2009, she worked in Beijing, first as a Political Counsellor, then across the whole UK-China relationship as Deputy Head of Mission, including during the Olympics. Prior to her current posting, Woodward was Director General for Economic & Consular Affairs.[2]

Early years

Barbara Janet Woodward was born to Arthur Claude Woodward (1921–1992) and Rosemary Monica Gabrielle Fenton[3][4] in Gipping, Suffolk, United Kingdom on 29 May 1961.[5][6] Woodwards's father served in World War II as an officer of the Suffolk Regiment, and won the Military Cross for gallantry.[7] He was later elected Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) after the war.[3] She was educated at South Lee School in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and then at Saint Felix School, a co-eduational, boarding independent school in Southwold, Suffolk.[8]

Woodward was then admitted to St Andrew's University in Scotland in 1979 and read history. She graduated in 1983 with a Master of Arts (MA Hons) degree.[3][9] Woodward taught English, first at Nankai University, and then at Hubei University, in Wuhan, China between 1986 and 1988.[1] She later learned and mastered Chinese. Her teacher in London, gave her the Chinese name Wu Baina (吴百纳 Wú Bǎinà).[1] In 1988, she went on to Yale University in the United States to further her studies on international relations, and obtained a second MA degree.[9]

Diplomatic career

In 2015, in a conversation with Lucy D'Orsi, HM Queen Elizabeth II said that Chinese officials "were very rude to the ambassador" (referring to Woodward), during an event at Lancaster House, London.[10][11][12]

Woodward will complete her tour in September 2020 when she will be succeeded as ambassador by Caroline Wilson.[13] She was appointed as Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations by the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab.[14]

Personal life

Her hobbies include sports, particularly competitive swimming and tennis. She is a member of the Otter Swimming Club in London and has previously served as its Honorary Secretary.[3]

Awards

In 1999, Woodward was included in the 1999 New Year Honours List and made an Officer of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II when she was serving as the First Secretary to Moscow.[15] In 2011, she was included in the 2011 Birthday Honours and made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for services to UK-China relations.[16][17] In 2016, she was included in the 2016 Birthday Honours and made a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for services to UK-China relations.[18]

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 OBE (2016–present)

Notes
  1. "英國首位女性駐華大使履新，29年前在中國教英語" (19 March 2015)
  2. Barbara Woodward Profile, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 21 February 2015
  3. "WOODWARD, Barbara Janet" (2012)
  4. "Descendants of John Roper-269323" (13 April 2005)
  5. The Diplomatic Service List (2003), p.325.
  6. "England & Wales births 1837-2006" (retrieved on 24 March 2015)
  7. "Issue 36850", London Gazette, 19 December 1944, p.5856.
  8. Black, Don (12 February 2018). "From Suffolk to Beijing: our woman in China". East Anglican Daily Times. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  9. "Barbara Woodward" (retrieved on 24 March 2015)
  10. Phillips, Tom (11 May 2016). "Queen caught on camera saying Chinese officials were 'very rude'". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  11. Linder, Alex (11 May 2016). "Queen Elizabeth caught on camera saying Chinese officials were 'very rude' during Xi Jinping's visit". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. "Queen filmed calling Chinese officials 'very rude'". BBC News. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  13. "Caroline Wilson appointed as Her Majesty's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China" (Press release). Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  14. "Dame Barbara Woodward appointed UK Permanent Representative to the UN in New York". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  15. "Supplement to Issue 55354", London Gazette, 31 December 1998, p.24.
  16. "Supplement to Issue 59808", London Gazette, 11 June 2011, p.13.
  17. "Birthday Honours 2016: Diplomatic Service and Overseas List" (PDF). UK Government. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  18. Black, Don. "From Suffolk to Beijing: our woman in China". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 2020-07-24.

References

English language

Chinese language
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir Sebastian Wood		 British Ambassador to China
2015–2020		 Incumbent
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