
Sir John Jenkins
Senior Fellow
Sir John Jenkins has enjoyed a 35 year career in the British Diplomatic Service. He holds a BA (Double First Class Honours) and a Ph.D from Jesus College, Cambridge. He also studied at The School of Oriental and African Studies in London (Arabic and Burmese) and through the FCO with the London and Ashridge Business Schools. He is an alumnus of the Salzburg Seminar. He joined the FCO in 1980 and served in Abu Dhabi (1983-86), Malaysia (1989-92) and Kuwait (1995-98) before being appointed Ambassador to Burma (1999-2002). He was subsequently HM Consul-General, Jerusalem (2003-06), Ambassador to Syria (2006-07), FCO Director for the Middle East and North Africa (2007-09), Ambassador to Iraq (2009-11), Special Representative to the National Transitional Council and subsequently Ambassador to Libya (2011) and Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2012-2015). He took an active part in Sir John Chilcott’s Iraq Inquiry and was asked by the Prime Minister in March 2014 to lead a Policy Review into the Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism. Until his departure from the FCO he was the government’s senior diplomatic Arabist. Most recently, Sir John was Executive Director of The Institute for Strategic Studies – Middle East (2015-2017) and a Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs (2017).

Related Posts & Publications


A lesson from Vienna in countering Islamist extremism
by Sir John Jenkins | Jul 17, 2020
Related Content Austria (with which I should declare I have family ties) is perhaps more widely known for Apfelstrudel, the Salzburg Festival, alpine resorts and Conchita Würst than as a European policy leader. It’s been a while since Bruno Kreisky’s edgy...
The Trial: the strange case of Trevor Phillips
by Sir John Jenkins | Mar 8, 2020
Related Content How the accusation of Islamophobia is used to stifle free speech The startling revelation that the Labour Party is threatening to expel Trevor Phillips on grounds of ‘racism’ and ‘Islamophobia’ will be received in different ways. On the one hand, it...
Eroding the Free Press
by Sir John Jenkins | Sep 5, 2019
Related Content IPSO’s Guidance for Reporting on Islam and Muslims In late 2018, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) announced that it had created “an informal working group” to help draft guidance for journalists on how to report on issues connected...
On Islamophobia
by Sir John Jenkins | May 15, 2019
Related Content The Problem of Definition The question of ‘Islamophobia’ has risen to the top of the political agenda. Calls for an inquiry into the alleged pervasiveness of ‘Islamophobic’ sentiment within the Conservative Party have been paralleled by demands for the...Support Us
Policy Projects
Policy Areas
Latest Tweets
RT @ConHome From Richard Ekins of @Policy_Exchange: How to reform our Supreme Court bit.ly/3iDtEJq
RT @BenMcAleenan On Tuesday we're hosting these highly distinguished folks to explore the Energy White Paper, as well as our own recent paper on the future of energy markets. Register below and tune in! policyexchange.org.u…
"President @JoeBiden's new Asia tsar understands the China challenge" Read our latest blog from @AlexanderDowner 👇 policyexchange.org.u…
REGISTER: Join us on Tuesday 26th January at 10.30 for: Powering Net Zero - How far does the Energy White Paper take us to a Net Zero energy system? Great panel includes Shadow Energy Minister @alanwhiteheadmp, @Laura_Sandys, @ClemCowton, @jbuckland13 and chaired by @ed_birkett
RT @ed_birkett 📢 New Event: Powering Net Zero - How far does the Energy White Paper take us? Join @Policy_Exchange on Tuesday 26th January 10.30 GMT We have a cracking panel to discuss the Energy White Paper and where next for UK energy policy Register here 👇 1/2 policyexchange.org.u…