Jonathan Powell (civil servant)
Jonathan Powell | |
|---|---|
Powell in 2026 | |
| United Kingdom National Security Adviser | |
| Assumed office 2 December 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Tim Barrow |
| Downing Street Chief of Staff | |
| In office 2 May 1997 – 27 June 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | David Wolfson (1985) |
| Succeeded by | Tom Scholar |
| Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 1995 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Leader | Tony Blair |
| Succeeded by | Sebastian Coe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jonathan Nicholas Powell 14 August 1956 |
| Party | Labour |
| Spouse | Sarah Helm |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford University of Pennsylvania |
Jonathan Nicholas Powell (born 14 August 1956) is a British civil servant and diplomat who has served as the UK National Security Advisor (NSA) under Keir Starmer since 2024. He previously served as Downing Street Chief of Staff from 1997 to 2007 under Tony Blair. During this period Powell was also the chief British negotiator in the Northern Ireland peace process.
In 2007, Powell joined Morgan Stanley as a full-time senior managing director of its investment banking division. He runs the charity Inter Mediate, which works on armed conflicts around the world. In 2014, David Cameron appointed Powell to be the UK's special envoy to Libya.
In 2024, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Powell as a special envoy to resolve the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute. Following the signing of an agreement in May 2025 in which the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while retaining a 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia military base he was appointed by Prime Minister Starmer to serve as the UK National Security Adviser.