Margaret Tongue

Biography

Margaret took up her appointment as Minister-Counsellor Economic Diplomacy at the British Embassy in Tokyo in October 2022.

Margaret has a long-standing interest in Asia and regional security, with an undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies and a Masters in International Politics of Asia. Since joining the Foreign Office in 2000 she has had a number of postings in Asia, working in Sri Lanka during the ceasefire of 2002-05, where she led on internal politics, the peace process and conflict resolution; in Taiwan, where she was Deputy Head of Mission and Director of UK Trade & Investment; China and Japan, where her focus was on Asia-Pacific regional security; and Thailand, where she was Deputy Head of Mission. She has also worked in London on South East Asia, Iran and peacekeeping. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and is learning Japanese.