Tony Brenton Keynote Speaker

Sir Tony Brenton KCMG worked for 30 years at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

From 1980 to 1989 he handled European matters in London and in Brussels, working on energy issues and the birth of European environmental policy. He led UK preparations for the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ which achieved the first global agreement on Climate Change.

After a year at Harvard (writing a book about international environmental policy) he learnt Russian and spent 1994 to 1998 in Moscow dealing with Russian economic reform. In 2001 he was posted to Washington, dealing with the consequences of 9/11, the Afghanistan war and the Iraq war.

In 2004, he moved to Moscow as Ambassador, where he managed Britain’s turbulent relations with Russia over the past few years. He was particularly focused on promoting and protecting UK business interests in Russia. Tony Brenton continues to appear as a regular media and press commentator on Russia.