Jane Kinninmont joined the ELN in 2020 as Policy & Impact Director, with a mission to strengthen the influence, policy relevance and impact of the organisation’s research, convening and networks. Previously she was Head of Programmes for The Elders, an organisation of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to work for peace, justice and human rights around the world. In that role, she focused on identifying opportunities to promote diplomatic and political solutions to conflicts, to strengthen multilateral approaches to peacemaking, and to advocate for the rights and dignity of refugees.
Before joining The Elders, Jane was Deputy Head and Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, a London-based international affairs research institute, where she led a research project on generational change in the Gulf Arab monarchies and its impact on Gulf relations with Iraq, Iran and Yemen; worked on various projects that analysed the roots of regional conflicts and brought younger-generation voices from the region into the debates on policy solutions; and mentored visiting fellows through the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs. Her publications included Iran and the GCC: Unnecessary Insecurity and Future Trends in the Gulf.
Jane’s previous positions include Associate Director for the Middle East and Africa at the Economist Group and Senior Editor/Economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, where she provided analysis of economic and political risks and trends, and bespoke strategic advisory services, for senior business executives working in emerging markets. Jane has also contributed articles and analysis to a wide range of publications including the Economist, Financial Times, Newsweek, Guardian and Prospect, and to consultancies and NGOs such as Oxford Analytica and Freedom House. She appears regularly in the broadcast media.
Jane has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University, and an MSc in International Politics from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, where she wrote her thesis on the politics of the “war on terror” in 2002-03. Outside of work, Jane is a onetime music journalist, a published poet, and a mother of two.
