Berenice Owen-Jones, is a senior career officer with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), who is currently Australian High Commissioner to Ghana since July 2022.
Berenice Owen-Jones, is a senior career officer with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), who is currently Australian High Commissioner to Ghana since July 2022.
Owen-Jones earned a Bachelor of Economics, and a Diploma of International Law, from the Australian National University in 1987 and 1988, respectively. [1]
Owen-Jones joined the public service in 1988, and has served in the Department of Trade, the Office of National Assessments, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. From 1999 to 2001, she was First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Paris, and was a ministerial speechwriter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer and then Stephen Smith, from 2006 to 2008. In 2016-2017, she was Director of Studies of the Diplomatic Academy. [1]
In June 2017, Owen-Jones was appointed as the first resident Australian Ambassador to Morocco, tasked with establishing the new embassy. [2] [3] [4] [5] Serving as ambassador until October 2020, Owen-Jones was awarded the rank of Commander of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, being presented with the award by the Moroccan ambassador to Australia, Karim Medrek, on 22 February 2021. [6] [7]
On 6 July 2022, she was appointed Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, with non-resident accreditation for Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. [8] She presented her letters of commission to the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on 27 September 2022. [9]
Foreign relations of Australia are influenced by its position as a leading trading nation and as a significant donor of humanitarian aid. Australia's foreign policy is guided by a commitment to multilateralism and regionalism, as well as to build strong bilateral relations with its allies. Key concerns include free trade, terrorism, refugees, economic co-operation with Asia and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Australia is active in the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Given its history of starting and supporting important regional and global initiatives, it has been described as a regional middle power par excellence.
The Order of Ouissam Alaouite or the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui is a military decoration of Morocco which is bestowed by the King of Morocco upon those civilians and military officers who have displayed heroism in combat or have contributed meritorious service to the Moroccan state. The decoration was established on 11 January 1913 in replacement of the Order of Ouissam Hafidien. It is awarded in five classes: Grand Cordon, Grand Officer, Commander (Commandeur), Officer (Officier) and Knight (Chevalier).
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the Ghana government official who is responsible for overseeing the country's foreign policy and international diplomacy. The foreign minister is usually one of the most senior members of Cabinet. Under military regimes in Ghana, the title; minister has been replaced with commissioner or secretary.
Ghana–Russia relations are the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Ghana and Russia. Russia has an embassy in Accra, and Ghana has an embassy in Moscow. Relations are still very friendly and close.
Stephen Christopher Brady is a former Australian career diplomat. In 1999 he and his partner Peter Stephens became the world's first officially acknowledged same sex ambassadorial couple, when they were presented to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at the start of Brady's posting as Australian Ambassador to Denmark. From September 2008 to June 2014 he was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia. During this time he was also Secretary of the Council of the Order of Australia and Secretary of the Bravery Decorations Council. In March 2014 his appointment as Ambassador to the French Republic, with concurrent accreditation to the Kingdom of Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Principality of Monaco was announced.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Morocco were established in 1976. Morocco has had an embassy in Canberra since 2004 and the Australian Embassy in Rabat was established in May 2017, upgrading the existing Austrade office in Rabat. Previously the Australian Embassy in Paris was accredited to Morocco since 1978.
Stephanie Sanders Sullivan is an American diplomat and the previous ambassador to Ghana. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central African Affairs and Security Affairs for the Bureau of African Affairs from January 2017 to November 2018. She previously served as United States Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, having been nominated by President Obama on June 13, 2013, confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2013, and served through January 20, 2017.
Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah is a Ghanaian diplomat who has worked for the foreign relations of Ghana in various capacities and is presently Ghana's ambassador to Ethiopia. She became Minister/Head of Chancery of the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C. in the United States on November 17, 2012.
Mercy Bampo Addo is a Ghanaian diplomat and a member of the New Patriotic Party of Ghana. She is currently Ghana's High Commissioner to Malta, having assumed office in July 2017. Between 2003 and 2009 she was the Deputy Minister and speech writer for the President of Ghana.
Virginia Hesse is a Ghanaian civil servant and diplomat who served as Ghana's ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. She spent a majority of her professional career in the Ghanaian public service.
Harriet Sena Siaw-Boateng is currently the Ambassador-designate to Belgium and Ghana’s Permanent Representative to The European Union. She was commissioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the February 1 2019. Harriet Boateng is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
Her Royal Highness Oheneba Lesley Akyaa Opoku Ware is a Ghanaian physician and diplomat. She is the ambassador of Ghana to the Russian Federation. Opoku Ware is also trained as a family physician. In 2017, she was appointed by Ghana's president as the Ambassador to the Russian Federation. She is also the ambassador to several other countries including Armenia.
Genevieve Edna Apaloo is a Ghanaian career Diplomat and Ghana's current Ambassador to Japan. Genevieve was once acting Head of Mission of the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC, United States of America, where she was posted as Head of Chancery in October 2019.
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