It is a return to Iraq for Alice Walpole, who arrived in Luxembourg after a two-year stint as the British Consul-General in Basra. She served as the British ambassador to Luxembourg from July 2011 to January 2016, after which she was appointed ambassador to Mali. Walpole was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to British diplomacy in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List.

But she has now left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take on a new role at the United Nations. Her title at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq is deputy special representative for political affairs and electoral assistance. The appointment was made official on 1 November by UN secretary-general António Guterres.  In a Facebook post on 20 September announcing her imminent move, Walpole wrote: “So much there still to be done--and a substantial role for the international community in helping achieve the peace and stability the country deserves.”