Pakistan has appointed Ambassador Amna Baloch as its 33rd Foreign Secretary, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday.
She becomes only the second woman in the country’s history to hold the highest position in the Foreign Service.
Baloch succeeds Ambassador Syrus Sajjad Qazi, who is retiring after a 34-year career with the Foreign Service. The first and only other woman to serve as Foreign Secretary was Tehmina Janjua, who held the role from 2017 to 2019.
Described as a “veteran diplomat,” Baloch has held numerous key roles both in Islamabad and at Pakistan’s diplomatic missions abroad, according to the Foreign Office’s statement.
Profile of Amna Baloch
Born in 1966, Amna Baloch becomes the second female Foreign Secretary in Pakistan’s history and the first woman from Sindh to hold the position in decades.
She earned a master’s degree in history and joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1991. Throughout her career, she has held various significant posts, including Minister Counsellor in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office; and Additional Secretary at the Foreign Minister’s Office.
Her previous diplomatic assignments include serving as Consul General in Chengdu, China (2014-2017); High Commissioner to Malaysia (2019-2023); and Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, and Luxembourg (2023-2024).
Baloch is married and has two daughters.
