Britain posts female envoy as Head of Mission

Dep. High Cmmissioner Beaufils

The British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, on Monday announced the arrival of Laure Beaufils as the new Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria.

Laure, who is the first female deputy high commissioner to be posted to Nigeria, arrived in the country on the same day, January 20, and will head the UK mission in Lagos, according to a statement signed by Wale Adebajo, communication manager at the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos.

“I’m delighted to be in Lagos and leading the UK mission here. I look forward to working with a variety of Nigerian partners to further progress the already strong UK-Nigeria relationship,” Beaufils said, while commenting on her arrival in Nigeria.

Beaufils has been head of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Rwanda since August 2014, where she managed a $100 million portfolio of programmes focusing on economic development, governance and social sectors.

Prior to holding her new position in Nigeria, she worked in various positions within the UK government.
She was lead strategic adviser working for former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in his role as Co-chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s high level panel on the post-2015 development agenda.

She also ran DFID’s department for overseas territories, led its team working on climate change, and also worked for the UK mission to the UN as first secretary responsible for development.

Prior to joining the UK civil service, Beaufils worked with the UN and civil society organisations, as well as the the private sector as a financial auditor.

She has lived and worked in Rwanda, Ethiopia, India, Cambodia, France, the UK and the United States.