Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, is a British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First Vice President of the European Commission from 2009 to 2014. She began her political career in 1999 when she was made a life peer by Tony Blair's Labour government.

Ashton held various ministerial positions and became Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in 2007. She played a key role in the passage of the EU's Treaty of Lisbon through the UK Parliament and served as the British European Commissioner for Trade. In December 2009, she became the first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Despite initial criticism, Ashton gained recognition for her negotiation skills, including her involvement in the Serbia-Kosovo agreement in 2013 and the P5+1 talks with Iran leading to the Geneva interim agreement in 2013. In 2017, she became the Chancellor of the University of Warwick, becoming the institution's first female chancellor, succeeding Sir Richard Lambert.