Pakistan on Monday appointed its first ever woman foreign secretary. Diplomat Tehmina Janjua, who will replace Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, is currently Pakistan’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations.

“The prime minister has been pleased to appoint Ms Tehmina Janjua as the new foreign secretary. She will assume the post of foreign secretary in the first week of March 2017,” read a statement issued by the foreign office.

Januja has surpassed many senior officers to be picked for the post, reported Dawn. According to media reports, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ibne Abbas were front-runners.

Januja boasts a 32-year-long career. She has been the ambassador to Italy from December 2011 to October 2015. Since then she has been Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN. “She [Janjua] has rich experience of working in bilateral and multilateral domains — both at the headquarters and missions abroad. She also served as... [the] spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs in 2011,” said the foreign office.