The Lord Kim Darroch of Kew KCMG

Born in 1954 in County Durham, Lord Kim Darroch is a retired UK civil servant and life peer in the House of Lords. His diplomatic career spanned over four decades, where he primarily focussed on national security issues and European policy.

Lord Darroch initially studied Zoology at Durham University, before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1976. Two years later, he married his wife Vanessa, who went on to have two children.

Through his time in diplomatic service, Lord Darroch gained experience in international negotiations, national security issues, and European affairs, as well as being a senior advisor to no less than four UK Prime Ministers, and a representative of the UK Government in the US and the EU.

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Type Of Speaker

Keynote Politics & Current Affairs Speaker

More About The Lord Kim Darroch of Kew KCMG

Lord Darroch has actively served four UK Prime Ministers, including Tony Blair (2004-2007), David Cameron (2012-2015), Theresa May (2016-2019), and Boris Johnson (2019-), in a variety of capacities, the most notable being the National Security Advisor for Cameron. Through his time serving the British government, Lord Darroch has overseen important issues such as the rise of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the collapse of the Libyan government.

Throughout his career, Lord Darroch served in a number of posts, including as desk officer for the Channel Tunnel project, co-secretary of the UK-French Channel Tunnel Treaty Group, private secretary to the Chief Secretary to the Treasure and Secretary of State for National Heritage, David Mellor, and then British peer The Lord Glenarthur as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Minister of State (1987-1989), and as Counsellor for External Affairs at the British Permanent Representative to the European Union, before being promoted to Director of FOC’s press office in 1998.

The Lord Kim Darroch talks Trump! …to fellow Great British Speaker Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Lord Darroch has worked on a wide breadth of political specialities, including being the Private Secretary to the Minister of State for the Middle East, Head of the Adriatic Department during the Dayton Accord negotiations, and Head of the News Department at the FCO. From 2016 to 2019, Lord Darroch served as the British Ambassador to the United States. Throughout his political career, Lord Darroch completed tours of Brussels (2007-2011) where he became the British Permanent Representative to the European Union and Tokyo (1980-1984) where he acted as the Government’s First Secretary.

Thanks to his experience and in-demand skills, Lord Darroch was named a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in 1997, and A Knight Commander (KCMG) in 2008. Upon his retirement in 2019, he was made a life peer in the House of Lords.

After retirement, Lord Darroch wrote his experiences down and published the book Collateral Damage: Britain, America, and Europe in the Age of Trump (2020), which is still available to buy.

An experienced executive with a background in policy analysis, government affairs, and public speaking, Lord Darroch is a regular and authoritative commentator and contributor for key media channels and published media.

Lord Kim Darroch – Public Speaker

He has spoken on a wide range of topics related to the British government including, foreign policy, the Ukraine crisis, Britain in the EU, Brexit, the UK and the US, Presidents and Prime Ministers past and present, as well as British national security, and British warfare. Lord Darroch is a competent and engaging speaker, author, host, and presenter.