Prior to arriving in DC, Dame Karen Pierce was the UK Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. Prior to this role, Pierce served as the Director General for Political Affairs and Chief Operating Officer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Pierce's first role in the Office was in Tokyo, after which she returned to the UK to work in the Security Policy Department.  She first served in Washington in 1991-96, and afterwards held a range of positions in London covering Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, Head of Newsroom, and Head of EU Department (Bilateral), and extensive work on the Balkans. In addition, Pierce has served as the Deputy Permanent Representative at the UK Mission to the UN, the Director of South Asia and Afghanistan Department and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN and WTO in Geneva, and the UK’s Ambassador to Afghanistan.