Karen Pierce appointed as first-ever female UK Ambassador to United Nations (UN)

Karen Pierce, the Foreign Office (FCO) political director, has been appointed the first-ever female UK ambassador to the United Nations (UN). She had previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and more recently as the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Pierce succeeded Matthew Rycroft under whom UK suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.