Barbara Woodward

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

Barbara Janet Woodward, CMG, OBE (Chinese: 吳百納, born 29 May 1961) is a British diplomat and a "Zhongguo tong" (中國通 Zhōngguó tōng).[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.

Ambassador Woodward 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. Woodward was most recently appointed 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 (吳百納 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]

Personal life

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

Honours

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 5 "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. ↑ "Supplement to Issue 55354", London Gazette, 31 December 1998, p.24.
  10. ↑ "Supplement to Issue 59808", London Gazette, 11 June 2011, p.13.

References

English-language

Chinese-language

External links

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