Sir Philip Barton

Philip was the UK's top diplomat for nearly five years (2020-25) advising four British Prime Ministers and five Foreign Secretaries. Philip is now a Senior Adviser, providing geopolitical insights and strategic advice for clients at SC Strategy.

Philip has significant organisational leadership experience in complex, high-risk environments. He successfully set up and ran the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - a senior Board-level position leading a complex merger. He transformed the new FCDO into an agile, resilient organisation able to respond effectively to successive international crises, notably Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier in his diplomatic career, Philip was Director General for Defence and Intelligence in the FCO, leading the UK’s international response to the Salisbury chemical weapons attack, and Acting Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. He also served as Foreign Affairs Private Secretary to Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair.

Philip’s overseas diplomatic roles included UK High Commissioner to Pakistan, High Commissioner to India and Deputy Ambassador to the US during the Obama Administration. He was posted to Cyprus, Gibraltar, New Delhi and Venezuela at the start of his career.

Philip has a degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Warwick and a Master's degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Strategy International and the Advisory Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.