Joanna Roper Explained

Joanna Roper
Office:British Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Term Start:7 October 2020
Predecessor:Peter Wilson
Primeminister:Boris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Birth Date: 20 February 1969 df=y
Nationality:British
Residence:The Hague, Netherlands
Occupation:Diplomat
Honorific Suffix:CMG
Honorific Prefix:Her Excellency

Joanna Louise Roper, Lady Drew, (born 20 February 1969) is a British diplomat who has served as the British Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague since 2020.

Having worked in the Home Office from 1992 to 2000, Roper joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2001. In 2017, she was appointed to be the FCO's Special Envoy for Gender Equality. Her former posts include serving as deputy head and then interim head of the FCO's Counter-Terrorism Department (2008–2010), head of the FCO's China Department (2012–2014), as well as director of the United Kingdom's worldwide consular services. As a diplomat, she has been posted to Japan, Pakistan and China.[1] [2] [3] [4]

In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) "for services to British foreign policy and the protection of British nationals overseas".

Roper is married to Sir Thomas Drew, who is currently Director General, Defence and Intelligence, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roper, Joanna Louise, (Mrs Thomas Drew) . . Oxford University Press . 2 April 2019 . 1 December 2018.
  2. Web site: Joanna Roper CMG . GOV.UK . 2 April 2019 . en.
  3. Web site: Cheyney . Maxine . Fair play for females . BCCJ Acumen . British Chamber of Commerce in Japan . 2 April 2019 . 21 July 2017.
  4. Web site: Why women have never had a more important role to play in the UK Civil Service - Joanna Roper CMG, Acting Director General for the Department for International Trade at the British Embassy in Beijing . Womanthology . 2 April 2019 . 22 February 2017.
  5. Web site: Gender Equality Special Envoy Joanna Roper: ‘It’s a great time to be a woman in diplomacy’. The Standard . 11 January 2024 . 6 March 2017.