Lord Jack McConnell
chair, McConnell International Foundation
Lord Jack McConnell was first minister of Scotland 2001-2007, after serving as finance minister 1999/2000 and education minister 2000/01. He was a member of the Scottish Parliament 1999 to 2011 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2010. He is co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the UN Global Goals and the All-Party Group on Conflict Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
Lord McConnell is chancellor of the University of Stirling, chair of the UK/Japan 21st Century Group, chair of Scotland’s leading policy think tank Enlighten and an adviser on soft power to the secretary of state for DCMS. Jack was UK special representative for peacebuilding 2008-2010, advises the Bangsamoro peace process in the Philippines and is a mediator with CHD and the World Bank.
Jack is vice president of Unicef UK, an ambassador for Action for Children and chair of the McConnell International Foundation. He grew up on a sheep farm in the Isle of Arran and worked as a high school Mathematics teacher before entering national politics.
Follow Lord McConnell on X: @LordMcConnell
RELATED SESSIONS
Saturday 17 October, 10:15 Wash House Café, The Abbey Centre
Should we put Britain first? The ‘national interest’ question
Saturday 17 October, 12:15 Parker Morris Hall, Abbey Centre
From metro mayors to Manchester: a devolution revolution?