Sir Philip Barton Appointed Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE School of Public Policy

The School of Public Policy is delighted to announce the appointment of Sir Philip Barton as a Visiting Professor in Practice.

Sir Philip Barton is a career British diplomat with nearly 40 years of experience in international relations, national security, and organisational leadership. He served as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Head of the UK Diplomatic Service from September 2020 to January 2025, overseeing 17,000 staff across 170 countries and managing a £13 billion budget. In this role, he led the merger of the FCO and the Department for International Development and chaired the department’s governance structures.

Prior to this, Sir Philip was British High Commissioner to India, Director General for Consular and Security at the FCO, Acting Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and British High Commissioner to Pakistan. He has also served as Deputy British Ambassador in Washington and held diplomatic postings in Venezuela, India, Cyprus, and Gibraltar. At the centre of UK government, he worked closely with every Prime Minister since John Major, including serving as Private Secretary to John Major and Tony Blair.

His areas of expertise include South Asia, national security, international relations, geopolitical strategy, organisational leadership and resilience, and crisis management.

Sir Philip studied Economics and Politics at Warwick University (First Class) and holds an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.

He joins the School of Public Policy as a Visiting Professor in Practice, bringing extensive experience from senior roles in government, diplomacy, and international affairs to support research, teaching, and student engagement at LSE.

Further information is available on his faculty profile, and you can follow him on LinkedIn.