London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

New UK ambassador to France means women hold all key postings

New UK ambassador to France means women hold all key postings

Menna Rawlings is UK’s first female appointee to Paris role, joining women representing others in G7
Women are to hold UK ambassadorships in all the world’s key postings after the role in Paris was given to Menna Rawlings, the first female appointee in British history.

It means women will represent Boris Johnson’s government – which has otherwise been criticised for being “incredibly blokey” – in the six other countries in the G7 group of top industrialised nations.

UK ambassadors in Berlin, Tokyo, Washington, Canberra, Beijing, Paris, Rome, Moscow and the United Nations in New York, among other places, are all women.

Until 1946, the Foreign Office banned women from diplomacy and until 1973 it required them to resign if they married. A rule requiring female diplomats to return to the UK – without keeping the job open – if they had a child in post was abolished even later. The first married female ambassadors were not appointed until 1987, 12 years after Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative party.

Rawlings, who replaces the former chief of staff to David Cameron, Ed Llewellyn, has been preceded by 43 male British ambassadors in Paris. The former national security minister Dame Neville Jones quit the Foreign Office after she was passed over for the Paris appointment in 2006. Rawlings was previously high commissioner to Australia and later in charge of developing the “global Britain” concept.

Among other current senior female ambassadors are Dame Karen Pierce (Washington), Caroline Wilson (Beijing), Dame Barbara Woodward (UK envoy to the UN), Jill Gallard (Berlin), Deborah Bronnert (Moscow), Jill Morris (Rome) and Julia Longbottom (Tokyo).

Key Commonwealth postings include Victoria Treadell as high commissioner to Australia, Catriona Laing representing the UK in Nigeria and Susan Jane le Jeune d’Allegeershecque, who is UK high commissioner in Canada. Jane Marriott represents the UK in Kenya, identified by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, this week as a key area for the UK in the future.

The Foreign Office says that in the past decade the number of female heads of mission has tripled from 22 to more than 60 but it has only really been in the past five years that the most senior jobs have been given to women.

The process of feminising the top of the department, advocated by the two previous permanent secretaries, Sir Simon Fraser and Lord McDonald, is made easier by the fact that most postings last on average four years, giving regular opportunity to redress the gender balance.

Among the arguments put to a Foreign Office commission in 1934 for women not working in the diplomatic service included the idea that many countries were so different from Britain that “it would be extremely difficult for a woman to make the contacts, which form a large part of the work of diplomacy”.

It was also claimed that the introduction of a female officer into the intimate life of missions abroad would present difficulties in that she might have to live alone, which would excite “undesirable comment”, or she might have to share government-owned accommodation with another junior officer, which would be embarrassing unless the other officer was also female. Some held that “the physical constitution of women is not such as to enable them to bear the strain of continuous overwork in hot and unhealthy climates”.

The Conservative party has yet to appoint a female foreign secretary. The only female foreign secretary has been Margaret Beckett, who was so surprised to be offered the job by Tony Blair in 2006 that she said she responded with the F-word.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
×