She was born on 4 November 1959 in Ipoh, Perak, Malaya (now Malaysia) to a Cantonese mother and a father of French-Dutch ancestry.[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U255667 TREADELL, Victoria Marguerite], Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013

Diplomatic career

Treadell joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1978. Before her posting to New Zealand, she had held postings in Pakistan, India and Malaysia.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=PressR&id=20829425 |title=Foreign Office Press Release 10 September 2009 |access-date=7 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019205006/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=PressR&id=20829425 |archive-date=19 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

From 2010 to 2014, she served as High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor of Pitcairn.{{cite web|url=http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-high-commission/our-high-commissioner/|title=Our High Commissioner|publisher=British High Commission, Wellington|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115124214/http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-high-commission/our-high-commissioner/|archive-date=15 November 2010}} She is the first woman who served as British High Commissioner to New Zealand.{{cite news|url=http://www.guide2.co.nz/politics/news/first-female-british-high-commissioner-to-nz-named/11/10940|title=First Female British High Commissioner To NZ Named|date=11 September 2009|work=guide2.co.nz (New Zealand Press Association)|access-date=24 June 2010}} From October 2014 to 2019, she served as High Commissioner to Malaysia.[http://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-high-commissioner-to-malaysia Change of High Commissioner to Malaysia], Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 25 June 2014

On 12 February 2019, Treadell was announced as the next British High Commissioner to Australia, in succession to Menna Rawlings, taking up the post in March 2019.{{cite web|title=Change of British High Commissioner to Australia: March 2019|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/change-of-british-high-commissioner-to-australia-march-2019|website=GOV.UK|publisher=Foreign and Commonwealth Office|access-date=15 February 2019|language=en|date=12 February 2019}}

In early February 2020, Treadell took the "unprecedented"{{Cite web|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/europe/parliamentary-trip-to-uk-cancelled-after-high-commissioner-pens-angry-letter-over-huawei-leak-20200211-p53zw4.html|title=Parliamentary trip to UK cancelled after High Commissioner pens angry letter over Huawei leak|last=Bourke|first=Latika|date=2020-02-15|website=Brisbane Times|language=en|access-date=2020-02-15}} step of giving two elected officials from the Parliament of Australia a "dressing down". The letter, showed "stern"{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-15/huawei-leak-diplomatic-tension-uk-australia-dominic-raab/11967520|title=Leaked Huawei discussions prompt British diplomatic rebuke of Australian politicians|last1=Greene|first1=Andrew|date=2020-02-15|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-02-15}} disapproval for how Australia had revealed its security concerns over the UK's invitation to Huawei into its 5G network, which had been expressed both to her, and her Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, in a private briefing.

In 2021, she was branded as a "sanctimonious bore" by senior members of the Australian government over "publicly lecturing" Australia on its allegedly inadequate efforts to combat climate change.{{Cite news|last=Fisher|first=Lucy|date=2021-10-14|title=British High Commissioner to Australia 'a sanctimonious bore' over climate change|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/10/14/british-high-commissioner-australia-sanctimonious-bore-climate/|access-date=2021-10-14|issn=0307-1235}}

Personal life

In 1985, the then Victoria Jansz married Alan Treadell.{{cite book |title=Treadell, Victoria Marguerite |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-255667 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=15 February 2019 |date=1 December 2018|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U255667 |isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 }}

In addition, due to her interest in culture and arts, she has been one of the patrons of the Singapore-based British Theatre Playhouse since 2014, with regard to the plays that are produced in Malaysia.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishtheatreplayhouse.com/patrons.html|title=British Theatre Playhouse - Patrons - Professional theatre production company incorporated in Singapore in 2004 but is internationally focused with a strong British connection - SISTIC|access-date=23 March 2017}}

Honours

She was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1989 following a visit by Elizabeth II to Malaysia.{{London Gazette |issue=51932 |date=10 November 1989 |page=12995}} In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).{{London Gazette |issue=59446 |supp=y |date=12 June 2010 |page=3}} corrected in {{London Gazette |issue=59612 |date=23 November 2010 |page=22521}}