Kara Owen

Kara Justine Owen (born 1971) is a senior British civil servant and the current High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Singapore. In April 2024, it was announced that she would be succeeded by Nikesh Mehta in July 2024, and Owen would transfer to another posting in the service.

Early life
Owen spent her childhood in the village of Bigrigg in Cumbria, and attended the University of Sheffield.

Career
Owen was not sure at first if she had made the right career choice. She stated, "When I had just entered the Foreign Office, sometimes I wondered if they confused my application form with someone else’s because I felt very different to the rest of the organisation. There weren’t many senior females when I joined. Those that were around appeared to have made some challenging personal choices that I didn’t feel ready to make, as I wanted to have a partner and children. I also didn’t come from Oxbridge or a private school. I came from a very ordinary family in a not very prosperous part of the UK, so I was afraid whether it would be okay for me to be me."

Owen joined the FCO in 1993 as Desk Officer for Russia. From 1996 to 2000 she was Vice Consul (Consular) and then Vice Consul (Political) at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong. She was Assistant Private Secretary to Junior Ministers at the FCO from 2001 to 2023; and Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw from 2003 to 2005. Owen was Deputy Head of Mission in Hanoi from 2005 to 2009. From then until 2011 she was assistant director, Head of Diversity and Equality at the FCO. She was Deputy Head of Mission in Paris from 2012 to 2016; and Director for the Americas at the FCO from then until her appointment in Singapore.

Awards
Owen was appointed Commander of The Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2014 following the successful state visit by Elizabeth II to France, and a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020.