Carma Elliot OBE

I graduated in Chinese and German from Leeds and Fudan Universities in 1987. On graduation I joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Within the FCO, I worked in a succession of diplomatic posts in various countries before being appointed Consul-General in Chongqing (1999-2004). After a two year spell as Consul-General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I returned to China in 2006 where I served as Consul-General in Shanghai until 2010, a highlight of which was the delivery of the UK presence at Shanghai Expo 2010. I was awarded the OBE in 2003 for services to British trade in China, and was honoured to receive a CMG in 2010.

Since January 2011, I have been Executive Director of Half the Sky Foundation in Beijing, an NGO established in 1998 to give China's orphaned children a second chance at childhood.