New South Wales offices  

Director NSW State Office, Ms Karen Lanyon

Ms Karen Lanyon was appointed Director of the NSW State Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in June 2011.

After completing her arts/law degree at Australian National University and being admitted as a barrister in NSW, Ms Lanyon joined DFAT in late 1988 and worked in the Department’s Trade Negotiations, International Legal and South East Asia Divisions before being posted to Singapore as Second Secretary (Political) in January 1991. On return to Canberra, Ms Lanyon worked in the Department’s Environment Branch from 1994-1996 where she was responsible for multilateral negotiations on sustainable development and climate change.  Ms Lanyon was posted to Jakarta from 1997-2001 where she worked as First Secretary (Economic) on a range of bilateral trade issues.  In August 2001 Ms Lanyon was posted as Deputy Head of Mission at Australia’s Embassy in Phnom Penh where she served until August 2004.  She then took the position of APEC Security Section working on counter-terrorism and emergency response, before returning to Jakarta in January 2006 as Minister Counsellor and head of the Political, Economic, Media and Cultural Affairs Branch. She returned to Australia to head up the Public Diplomacy Branch in late July 2009 where she was responsible for Australia’s international cultural and media relations. Ms Lanyon was Assistant Secretary, Africa Branch from January 2011 until taking up her position in Sydney in June 2011.