Neville-Jones, (Lilian) Pauline (1939– )

English diplomat. In 1994 she became the second-highest official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as political director and deputy under-secretary of state – a higher rank than any other woman in the Foreign Office. She joined the NatWest bank as a European specialist in 1996, and was made DBE in the same year.

Her last FCO post was as head of the British delegation during the Bosnian peace talks in Dayton, Ohio in 1995.

Neville-Jones was educated in Leeds and at Oxford. She entered the Foreign Office in 1963, and worked her way through the diplomatic ranks, including postings in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 1964–65, Singapore 1965–68, and Washington DC 1971–75. After appointments in the FCO 1968–71 and 1975–77, she was chef de cabinet for the European commissioner for budget 1977–82, and worked at the Royal Institute for International Affairs 1982–83, before becoming FCO head of planning staff in 1987. She was also deputy in Bonn 1988–91.