John Sawers
A career diplomat and intelligence officer who served as the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service and the UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Quick facts
No freely licensed portrait available
- Current role
- Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
- Organization
- Secret Intelligence Service
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Forum
Sir John Sawers joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1977. During his early career, he held diplomatic postings in Yemen, Syria, South Africa, and the United States. He served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary from 1993 to 1995 and was later the British Ambassador to Egypt from 2001 to 2003.
From 2003 to 2007, he served as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Director General for Political Affairs. He was appointed the British Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 2007, where he represented the United Kingdom on the UN Security Council. In 2009, he was named Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a position he held until 2014.
Following his retirement from government service, he entered the private sector. He was appointed as a non-executive director of BP in 2015 and has served as the Executive Chairman of Newbridge Advisory. He is also a Senior Advisor at Chatham House and has contributed to various international security forums.
Education
- University of Nottingham
- University of St Andrews
- University of the Witwatersrand