Shirley Elizabeth Barnes (born 1938) is a former United States diplomat[1] and a career Foreign Service officer.

During her college years, she joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and became fluent in French.

[3] Before joining the Foreign Service, Barnes became vice president in several major advertising agencies and worked for the Ford Foundation from 1961- 1965 in the Republic of Congo, Kinshasa.

[4] Barnes was the director of Western European affairs in the Bureau of European Affairs at the United States Department of State and served as a diplomat in West Berlin, Cairo, Sofia, and Dakar.

[6] She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the American Foreign Service Association.