Joanna Kuenssberg

Biography

Joanna Kuenssberg was Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Lisbon since August 2010. She was Chargé d’Affaires between January to May 2011, before the arrival of Ambassador Jill Gallard.

She was appointed High Commissioner to Mozambique and arrived at post in Maputo in April 2014.

Before being posted to Portugal she worked in the Foreign Office Strategy Unit, after managing a project to improve our services for British nationals overseas. Prior to this, she led the Foreign Office team handling anti-corruption and other policy matters relating to the private sector. This followed 9 years of EU work in a number of different capacities: EU and economic issues in the British Embassy, Paris; secondments to the EU services of the French and Hungarian Foreign Ministries; two years working on EU enlargement in the Foreign Office; EU enlargement in the European Commission; and EU matters in the British Department of Environment, which she joined in 1995.

Joanna is married and has three young sons.

Previous roles in government

  • British High Commissioner to Mozambique
  • Deputy Head of Mission, Portugal