Islamabad: The United Kingdom on Thursday announced the appointment of senior diplomat Jane Marriott OBE as the next British High Commissioner to Pakistan. The first female British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Marriott is due to take up her role in mid-July.
She would be replacing Dr Christian Turner, who left Pakistan in January after serving as the envoy since December 2019. "The first female British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane, is due to take up her role in mid-July," the British High Commission in Islamabad said in a statement.
‘Incredibly excited’
Following the announcement of her appointment, Marriot said that she was incredibly excited to be appointed as the next British High Commissioner to Pakistan – “a country I am delighted to have visited twice before”. “I am looking forward to getting to know this culturally rich and deeply diverse country even better. The United Kingdom’s relationship with Pakistan is rooted in shared history. Our people-to-people ties bind our countries together in common partnership, which I will be aiming to strengthen further,” she said.
About Jane Marriott
Prior to this appointment, Marriott, 47, was the High Commissioner to Kenya from September 2019 to June 2023. She has previously served as Director of the UK’s Joint International Counter-Terrorism Unit; Joint FCDO Director for the Middle East and North Africa; Ambassador to Sana’a, Yemen (2013-15); Deputy and Acting Ambassador to Tehran; and as an adviser to the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. She has also completed two diplomatic postings to Iraq and one to Afghanistan.
First woman envoy to head British HC in Pakistan
Marriott brings a wealth of thematic and regional experience to her new role having joined the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2001, following roles in the Cabinet Office and Home Office. She has also completed two diplomatic postings to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, the statement from the High Commission said.
(With PTI inputs)
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