Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart is the Brady-Johnson Professor of Grand Strategy at Yale University – a former UK cabinet minister and diplomat and Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a professor at Harvard University.

Stewart is the author of six books: How Not to Be a Politician, The Places In Between: A Vivid Account of a Death-defying Walk Across War-torn Afghanistan, Occupational Hazards, The Marches: A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland, Can Intervention Work? and Politics on the Edge: A Memoir from Within. His book The Marches and his BBC documentary Borderland focuses on the history of Cumbria. Stewart currently teaches Grand Strategy at Yale University and co-presents the UK’s top podcast, The Rest Is Politics, with Alastair Campbell.

Stewart previously served as the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Minister of State for Justice, and held roles in the Foreign Office and DFID, focusing on Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He was also Minister for the Environment and Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. After a brief stint as an infantry officer, he joined the UK Diplomatic Service. His overseas assignments included serving in Jakarta, representing the UK in Montenegro post-Kosovo crisis, and acting as the coalition Deputy Governor of two provinces in Southern Iraq after the 2003 intervention. He later embarked on a two-year journey walking through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal.

In 2005, Stewart founded the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul, aimed at revitalizing a part of the old city, setting up a clinic, primary school, and Arts Institute, and promoting Afghan crafts in international markets. In 2008, he became the Ryan Professor of Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy. Stewart also serves as a Senior Advisor to GiveDirectly, a leading nonprofit specialising in cash transfers to the extreme poor, particularly in Africa.