
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


Grasping the Nettle
by Sir John Jenkins | Jan 8, 2021
Related Content The Austrian State and Islamism The evolving Austrian debate on Islamism – reflecting in turn a growing public understanding of the issues over the last decade – continues to be of great interest to anyone concerned with the future of a liberal...
Understanding Islamism
by Sir John Jenkins | Nov 28, 2020
Related Content What word should we use to describe those who resort to violence in the name of Islam? This question has recently been the cause of much angst and uncertainty in official circles – and nowhere more so than within the ranks of the British police. In...
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...Support Us
Policy Projects
Policy Areas
- Crime and Justice
- Demography, Immigration and Integration
- Economics and Social Policy
- Education
- Environment and Energy
- Foreign Policy and Security
- Government and Politics
- Health and Social Care
- Housing and Urban Regeneration
- Industrial Strategy
- International Trade
- Security and Extremism
- Space
- Technology
Latest Tweets
RT @MrPaulStott My article in The Times on the #Prevent Review, William Shawcross and the challenge posed by Islamist and far-right extremism. The status quo is not an option: thetimes.co.uk/artic…
Watch the event in full here: policyexchange.org.u…
The UK's fertility rate was 1.59 in 2020 - yet on average women would like to have 2.3 and men 2.2 children. This fertility gap is a tragedy - argues @CristinaOhq at Policy Exchange @David_Goodhart pic.twitter.com/9WFX…
RT @JimBethell 🇬🇧 expertise in cutting-edge specialised services demonstrates #NHS at its most innovative. But its huge success means tough decisions if we are to benefit from these advances. This @Policy_Exchange report from @Robert_WH_Ede is so important. Read it! policyexchange.org.u…
RT @edking_I This is a pretty interesting 2021 piece on #climate risk by ex CIA chief David Petraeus + @BenMcAleenan... excerpt below pertinent given escalating global food crisis policyexchange.org.u… pic.twitter.com/knI4…