Jessica Hand

Jessica Mary Hand (née Pearce; born 1957)[2] is a British diplomat who was the British Ambassador to Angola from 2018 to 2021. She was appointed as ambassador on 21 July 2017 and succeeded John Dennis in March the next year.

Her Excellency
Jessica Hand
British Ambassador to Angola
In office
March 2018 – December 2021
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime Minister
Preceded byJohn Dennis
Succeeded byRoger Stringer
Personal details
Born
Jessica Mary Pearce

1957 (age 65–66)
NationalityBritish
SpouseRobert Hand
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen[1]
OccupationDiplomat

Consular career

Hand joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985,[1] beginning as a Desk Officer for India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and The Maldives. In 1986, she was moved to be Desk Officer for Hungary and Czechoslovakia.[3] Hand was first posted abroad in 1987 to Senegal.[1]

She was recalled in 1990 to be the Head of Economic Sanctions in the UN Department of the FCO and in 1992, the Head of the South Africa Section of the Africa Department. Between 1994 and 1996, Hand was placed on a language training course, becoming proficient in Russian.[3]

In 1996, Hand was appointed the UK Ambassador to Belarus in Minsk.[4][5] At age 38, she was the then youngest-ever British head of mission.[6][7] She stayed in the post until 1999, when she was recalled to be the Deputy Head of the Non-Proliferation Department at the FCO.[4]

Hand was posted to Holland in 2002, to work at NATO JFC Brunssum as the UK Political Adviser and two years later was assigned to the Moscow consulate as Consul General and Director of Operations.[2][3] In 2008, she was posted to Istanbul as Consul General and the Director of Trade and Investment,[1] serving under David Reddaway.[8] Hand stayed there until 2012, when she was recalled to work on various assignments at the FCO, including the Arms Trade Treaty.[3][9]

From 2014 until her appointment in July 2017 as UK Ambassador to Angola, Hand worked as the Head of the Arms Export Policy Department.[10][11][12]

Hand succeeded John Dennis in March 2018 as the Ambassador to Angola and the non-resident Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe. She presented her credentials to Angolan president João Lourenço on 28 June the same year.[13] During her term she supported Lourenço's anti-corruption measures,[14][15] increased economic ties,[16][17] and facilitated an official visit by Prince Harry in 2019.[18] She stayed in the post for four years, announcing she was leaving in November 2021.[19] She was succeeded by Roger Stringer the next month.[20]

Personal life

Pearce married Robert Hand, a retired defence attache of the US Army,[1][5] and has three step-children.[3]

References
  1. "TEDxSilkRoad Confirmed Speakers". TEDxSilkRoad. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. Colin A. Mackie (October 2013). "British Diplomats Directory" (PDF). gulabin.com. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  3. "Press release Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Angola". GOV.UK. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. "Embassy History". British Embassy Minsk - Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. Simon Petermann; Stanislav Tkachenko (June 2001). "The Military Cooperation of the CIS countries and NATO" (PDF). NATO. p. 32. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  6. Talyn Rahman (April 2011). "Women in Diplomacy: An Assessment of British Female Ambassadors in Overcoming Gender Heirarchy [sic], 1990-2010". American Diplomacy. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  7. "History Notes Issue 20: Women and the Foreign Office" (PDF). GOV.UK. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. February 2018. p. 25. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  8. Foreign Affairs Select Committee (4 April 2012). "UK-Turkey relations and Turkey's regional role" (PDF). Parliament.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  9. "Draft List of Participants" (PDF). Arms Trade Treaty. 24 August 2016. p. 34. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. "British Ambassador to Angola Jessica Hand". GOV.UK. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  11. Angola Press News Agency (26 July 2018). "UK foresees increased trade with Angola". EIN News. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  12. "Committees on Arms Export Controls". BBC Democracy Live. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  13. "Head of State accredits ambassadors". ANGOP. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  14. Andrew Harding (27 January 2020). "Angola's João Lourenço - the man taking on Isabel dos Santos". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  15. César Esteves (17 November 2021). "Jessica Hand apela à paciência na obtenção dos resultados do combate à corrupção". Jornal de Angola (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  16. "It is necessary to educate the business world for Angola today, says British ambassador". Ver Angola. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  17. Ismael Botelho (2 September 2021). "Ministra reafirma abertura ao investimento britânico". Jornal de Angola. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  18. "Duke greets landmine victim who met his mother to complete 'beautiful story'". Guernsey Press. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  19. César Esteves (18 November 2021). "Jessica Hand termina missão de quatro anos". Jornal de Angola (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  20. "Press release Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Angola: Roger Stringer". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
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