Teacher fellows
Jonathan Powell
I was Chief of Staff to Tony Blair from 1995 to 2007 and the chief British government negotiator on Northern Ireland from 1997-2007. Before that I was a British diplomat from 1979 to 1995 working among other things on the negotiations to return Hong Kong to China in the early 1980s, the CSCE human rights talks and CDE arms control talks with the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, and the âTwo plus Fourââ talks on German reunification in the late 1990-1.
Since leaving government I have established a charity, Intermediate, which I head, to work on armed conflicts around the world. We are currently working on 10 conflicts on four continents. I have written three books: Great Hatred Little Room: Negotiating Peace in Northern Ireland, The New Machiavelli: How to wield power in the modern world and Talking to Terrorists.
As a history graduate from both British and American universities and because of my work on conflict, I am delighted to be a Patron of Parallel Histories, because I too believe in the importance of asking communities in conflict to acknowledge each otherâs historical narratives, without letting the past poison the future, and in the importance of robust but respectful dialogue.
These are attitudes and skills which are more easily acquired young, and it is why I strongly support Parallel Histories and their work in schools.
Photo credit: George Torode
Jonathan Powell
I was Chief of Staff to Tony Blair from 1995 to 2007 and the chief British government negotiator on Northern Ireland from 1997-2007. Before that I was a British diplomat from 1979 to 1995 working among other things on the negotiations to return Hong Kong to China in the early 1980s, the CSCE human rights talks and CDE arms control talks with the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, and the âTwo plus Fourââ talks on German reunification in the late 1990-1.
Since leaving government I have established a charity, Intermediate, which I head, to work on armed conflicts around the world. We are currently working on 10 conflicts on four continents. I have written three books: Great Hatred Little Room: Negotiating Peace in Northern Ireland, The New Machiavelli: How to wield power in the modern world and Talking to Terrorists.
As a history graduate from both British and American universities and because of my work on conflict, I am delighted to be a Patron of Parallel Histories, because I too believe in the importance of asking communities in conflict to acknowledge each otherâs historical narratives, without letting the past poison the future, and in the importance of robust but respectful dialogue.
These are attitudes and skills which are more easily acquired young, and it is why I strongly support Parallel Histories and their work in schools.
Photo credit: George Torode
