UK Foreign Office gets first female leader – POLITICO

LONDON — Lindy Cameron, the U.K.’s High Commissioner to India, has been appointed the new permanent under-secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office — the first woman to hold the role. 

Cameron’s appointment is one of the first major foreign policy decisions of Andy Burnham’s government, and comes at a time of upheaval for the FCDO.

She will have to steady a department recently rocked by the scandal over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as U.S. ambassador and the subsequent sacking of Olly Robbins as FCDO boss. The ministry also faces cuts and redundancies as part of the FCDO 2030 program.