Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Nicholas Powellis a British diplomat who served as the first Downing Street Chief of Staff, under British Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1995 to 2007. He was the only senior adviser to last the whole period of Blair’s leadership. During this period Powell was also the chief British negotiator on Northern Ireland...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth14 August 1956
approach critics equate
You should never appease terrorists. The mistake made by critics of the 'talking to your enemy' approach is to equate talking with appeasing.
If there is a political cause, then there has to be a political solution.
aspired foreign labour solid
I'm a solid Labour party supporter. I aspired to be a Labour MP, but it's difficult to make the leap from the Foreign Office.
love proper
I'd love to have a proper sailing boat and go around the world.
agreement fairy happily peace
A peace agreement isn't like a fairy story. You don't live happily ever after.
british cold enjoy media middle ministers night prime seems send senior soldiers sweat wake war worrying worst
There seems to be a sense in the British media that prime ministers enjoy going to war. They do not. The decision to send British soldiers into battle is the worst and most stomach-churning senior politicians have to take. It makes them wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat worrying if they have done the right thing.
best trying
All the things I've done are about duty and guilt: trying to do your best to better other people's lives.
government grab interested israeli lasting peace people saw skeptical wants
The Israeli people are skeptical about the chances of a long-term peace, but if they saw it, they'd grab it. Any Israeli government that wants to be reelected should be interested in a lasting peace.
There is no conflict in the world that cannot be solved.