Sir Emyr Jones Parry

Sir Emyr Jones Parry is a former British Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and former UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council (NATO). Jones Parry joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1973 and his first posting was to the British High Commission in Ottawa as First Secretary (1974–79). He returned to the FCO to work in the European Community Department (Internal) for the period 1979–82. Following this he entered the Office of UK Representation to the European Community in Brussels as First Secretary (Energy) and then (Institutions) 1982–86. He followed this with a period as Deputy Head at the Office of the President of the European Parliament (1987–89), before again returning to the FCO as Head of European Community Department (External) (1989–93). His next overseas position was at the British Embassy in Madrid (1993–97), followed by the post of Deputy Political Director in the Foreign Office, where he was also responsible for Balkans and Aegean policy (1996–97).

His next position in 1997 was Director European Union during the 1998 United Kingdom Presidency of the European Union, with overall responsibility for policy, co-ordination and organisation of the presidency. He took over as Permanent Representative to NATO in September 2001, and held the position until 2003, whereupon he became the Permanent Representative of the UK on the United Nations Security Council in New York. In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of the All Wales Convention - a body established by the Welsh Assembly Government to review Wales's constitutional arrangements and in particular to spearhead the campaign to increase the powers of the Assembly to a full legislative parliament similar to the Scottish Parliament. He was appointed President of Aberystwyth University in July 2007. In 2009 Jones Parry was nominated by the United Kingdom as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.