Ivan Rogers Keynote Speaker

Sir Ivan Rogers is a former British civil servant and current member of the Council at the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR).

From 2013 to 2017, he was the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU. In this position, he was the UK’s most senior negotiator with other Member States and the European institutions. Ivan is a well-regarded speaker and commentator on BREXIT and the implications for both the UK and the EU.

Sir Ivan joined the civil service in 1986. He initially served in the Treasury, during which time he was Private Secretary to then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke. Following this, he was seconded to the European Commission as Chief of Staff to Sir Leon Brittan. He returned to London to become Director of European Strategy and Policy under then Chancellor Gordon Brown.

In 2003, Sir Ivan was appointed the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair. In this capacity, he had oversight of all domestic policy issues and was responsible for managing two hundred staff.

Following a spell in the private sector, Sir Ivan was chosen to be Chief EU Advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron in 2011. He acted as the UK’s EU, G8 and G20 Sherpa; preparing Cameron for all summits and attending these with him. His impressive work here, particularly in improving and deepening Anglo-German relations, combined with his vast experience with the EU made him the stand-out choice for UK Permanent Representative to the EU.

In this role, Sir Ivan worked closely with David Cameron to renegotiate the UK’s terms of membership within the EU. These new terms formed the basis for Cameron to claim a new relationship with the EU and to lead the campaign to stay within it. After the UK elected not to accept these new terms, Sir Ivan remained in Brussels until January 2017. He then submitted his resignation owing to the belief that a new team should be in place for the invocation of Article 50.