Joanna Roper

Her Excellency
Joanna Roper
CMG
British Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 October 2020
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Keir Starmer
Preceded byPeter Wilson
Personal details
Born (1969-02-20) 20 February 1969 (age 55)
NationalityBritish
Residence(s)The Hague, Netherlands
OccupationDiplomat

Joanna Louise Roper, Lady Drew, CMG (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".[5]

Roper is married to Sir Thomas Drew, who is currently Director General, Defence and Intelligence, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[6]

  1. ^ Roper, Joanna Louise, (Mrs Thomas Drew). Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U287597. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 2 April 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Joanna Roper CMG". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  3. ^ Cheyney, Maxine (21 July 2017). "Fair play for females". BCCJ Acumen. British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. ^ "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. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. pp. B3–B4.
  6. ^ "Gender Equality Special Envoy Joanna Roper: 'It's a great time to be a woman in diplomacy'". The Standard. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2024.