Under Ms Bar-Li, the embassy in Ghana reopened following 38 years in which there was no official Israeli representation in that country.
Her impressive CV also includes diplomatic roles in Turkey, Australia and Uzbekistan.
According to her profile on LinkedIn, Ms Bar-Li was deputy head of mission in Ankara for five years, consul at the Sydney Consulate and deputy chief of mission at Israel’s embassy in Uzbekistan.
In one of her first public engagements in Britain, Ms Bar-Li attended an event at the Houses of Parliament organised by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and UNESCO. The new deputy ambassador gave a speech at People, Book, Land: the 3,500 year relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land.
Also in attendance were Sir Eric Pickles, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, MPs and peers. A spokesman for the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) tweeted: “Deputy Ambassador @SharonBarli is welcomed for the first time in #HousesofParliament, ‘Honour to be speaking in heart of British democracy’.”
Ms Bar-Li replaces Eitan Na’eh, who was appointed as Israel’s ambassador to Turkey.
