Rosemary Thomas
Encyclopedia
Rosemary Thomas OBE is a British diplomat, and Ambassador to Belarus since 2009.

Early life

She was born Rosemary O'Brien in Liverpool to a catholic family. She attended the Bellerive Girls' School (also known as the Bellerive Convent Grammar School), which was then a catholic girls' direct grant grammar school
Direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a selective secondary school in England and Wales between 1945 and 1976 funded partly by the state and partly through private fees....

, and is now the Bellerive FCJ Catholic College
Bellerive FCJ Catholic College
Bellerive FCJ Catholic College is a voluntary aided all girls secondary school and a coeducational sixth form located on Windermere Terrace in Liverpool. The post code of the school is L8 3SB -Admissions:It is a catholic girls' school...

, a comprehensive since 1983.

She attended the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

 where she gained a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Russian.

FCO

She joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...

 (FCO) in 1990.

From 1997-8 she was a Desk Officer at the Asia–Europe Meeting Summit, then from 1998-2001 was in the Russian Section of the Eastern Department. From 2001-3 she was Head of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

 Section in the Council of Europe Department (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...

 - OCSE). From 2003-5 she was Head of the War Crimes Section in the International Organisations Department.

EU

From 2006-7 she was the Head of Communications of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine
European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine
The European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine is a European Union structure, created to control the traffic on borders between Moldova and Ukraine....

, based in Odessa.

Afghanistan

From 2007-8 she was First Secretary of Counter Narcotics
Opium production in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has been the greatest illicit opium producer in the entire world, ahead of Burma and the "Golden Triangle" since 1992, excluding the year 2001. Afghanistan is the main producer of opium in the "Golden Crescent". Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since U.S....

 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ambassador

She became the British Ambassador to Belarus on 17 September 2009, based in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...

. She replaced Dr Nigel Gould-Davies who had been there since 2007, and was appointed on 4 June 2009.

The current President of Belarus is Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...

. Belarus, like Ukraine, is not a member of the EU, but has much interest in becoming part of the EU.

Personal life

She married Alan Howard Thomas in 1990. She is a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society
Royal Commonwealth Society
The Royal Commonwealth Society is an international educational charity and a private members' club. Its mission is to support and promote the modern Commonwealth, its culture and core values...

.

She received the OBE in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

External links


Video clips

  • Belarus TV (National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus)
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