Barbara Woodward

Her Excellency
Dame Barbara Woodward
DCMG OBE
British Ambassador to China
Assumed office
19 February 2015
Monarch Elizabeth II
Preceded by Sir Sebastian Wood
Personal details
Born Barbara Janet Woodward
(1961-05-29) May 29, 1961
Gipping, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Residence Beijing, China
Alma mater University of St Andrews
Yale University
Barbara Woodward
Traditional Chinese 吳百納
Simplified Chinese 吴百纳

Dame Barbara Janet Woodward DCMG OBE (Chinese: 吴百纳, born 29 May 1961) is a British diplomat and China expert.[1] She serves as the British Ambassador to China since February 2015 and is the first woman to hold this position.

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

Dame Barbara joined the FCO 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] Barbara's father participated in World War II as a member of the Suffolk Regiment and was conferred the Military Cross by the British Government on 21 December 1944 for his contributions in the war in northwest Europe.[7] Her father, a surveyor himself, was elected Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRIC) after the war.[3]

Woodward was admitted to the University of St Andrews in Scotland in 1979 and read history. She graduated in 1983 with a Master of Arts (M.A. Hons.) degree.[3][8] Woodward taught the English language first at Nankai University, then at Hubei University, in Wuhan, China between 1986 and 1988.[1] She later learned and mastered the Chinese language, while her teacher in London, who is knowledgeable about China, 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 another Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.[8]

Diplomatic career

In 2015, in a conversation with Lucy D'Orsi, Queen Elizabeth II said that Chinese officials "were very rude to the ambassador" (referring to Woodward), during an event negotiation at Lancaster House, London.[9][10][11]

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]

Honours

She was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2011 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to UK/China relations.[15]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 "Barbara Woodward" (retrieved on 24 March 2015)
  9. ↑ Phillips, Tom (11 May 2016). "Queen caught on camera saying Chinese officials were 'very rude'". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Queen filmed calling Chinese officials 'very rude'". BBC News. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Supplement to Issue 55354", London Gazette, 31 December 1998, p.24.
  13. ↑ "Supplement to Issue 59808", London Gazette, 11 June 2011, p.13.
  14. ↑ "Birthday Honours 2016: Diplomatic Service and Overseas List" (PDF). UK Government. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B3.

References

English-language

  • The Diplomatic Service List. Great Britain: H.M. Stationery Office, 2003.
  • "Descendants of John Roper-269323", Genealogy Web Page of L. David Roper, 13 April 2005.
  • "Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to China", Foreign & Commonwealth Office: Press Release, 6 August 2014.
  • "WOODWARD, Barbara Janet", Who's Who 2013. London: A. & C. Black, 2012. ISBN 978-1-40815-491-5
  • "Prince William coming to China", China Daily, 6 February 2015.
  • "Barbara Woodward", Linkedin, retrieved on 24 March 2015.
  • "England & Wales births 1837-2006", Genes Reunited, retrieved on 24 March 2015.

Chinese-language

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir Sebastian Wood		 British Ambassador to China
February 2015–present		 Incumbent
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