Her Excellency
Dame Menna Rawlings
DCMG CVO
British Ambassador to France
Assumed office
23 August 2021
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byThe Lord Llewellyn of Steep
British High Commissioner to Australia
In office
2015–2019
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Theresa May
Preceded byPaul Madden
Succeeded byVictoria Treadell
Personal details
Born
Menna Frances Hornung

(1967-09-16) 16 September 1967 (age 56)
Hillingdon, Middlesex, England
SpouseMark John Rawlings
Children3
Alma materLondon School of Economics (BSc)

Dame Menna Frances Rawlings DCMG CVO (née Hornung;[1] born (1967-09-16)16 September 1967) is a British diplomat serving as British Ambassador to France since 2021. Previously British High Commissioner to Australia from 2015 to 2019,[2] she then served as Director General of Economic and Global Issues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2019 to 2020.

Career

Menna Hornung read International Relations at LSE, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989. In her early career, she served in London, as well as Brussels, Nairobi and Tel Aviv.[3]

From 2002 to 2004, she served as private secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, then until 2008 she was posted as deputy high commissioner to Ghana at Accra.[2] After three years in Washington, D.C. as HM Consul General, in 2011 she was posted back to the FCO in London as director for human resources, remaining there until 2014.[3] From 2015 to 2018 she served as British High Commissioner to Australia, before again returning to London in 2019, being promoted to Director General of Economic and Global Issues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She served in the role until 2020.

In April 2021, the Government nominated Rawlings for the role of British Ambassador to France, to take office in summer 2021.[4] News of her appointment coincided with reporting that for the first time, every British ambassador or high commissioner to a G7 country would be a woman.[5] She entered the role on 23 August 2021.[6] During her tenure in Paris, King Charles III and Queen Camilla paid a state visit to France in September 2023.

Already Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to British foreign policy.[7] She was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in September 2023 in connection to Their Majesty’s State Visit to France.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ GRO; Volume: 26; Page: 14
  2. ^ a b "Her Excellency Menna Rawlings CMG". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Rawlings, Menna Frances, (born 16 Sept. 1967), HM Diplomatic Service; High Commissioner to Australia, since 2015; ukwhoswho.com".
  4. ^ "Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to France: Menna Rawlings". GOV.UK (Press release). 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  5. ^ Wintour, Patrick (29 April 2021). "New UK ambassador to France means women hold all key postings". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  6. ^ Rawlings, Menna [@MennaRawlings] (23 August 2021). "First day as HM Ambassador to France" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N3.
  8. ^ "French state visit honours". London Gazette. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
Diplomatic posts Preceded byPaul Madden British High Commissioner to Australia 2015–2019 Succeeded byVictoria Treadell Preceded byThe Lord Llewellyn of Steep British Ambassador to France 2021–present Incumbent
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