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Simon Lunn

Senior Associate Fellow

Senior Associate Fellow

Simon Lunn is a Senior Associate Fellow for the European Leadership Network (ELN).

As Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 1997 to 2007, Simon initiated the Assembly’s program of partnership and assistance to the parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe. From 1979 to 81, he worked in the US Congressional Research Service, preparing reports for Congress on NATO strategy and the 1979 INF decision.

After positions at the RIIA Chatham House and the European Parliament, he was appointed Head of Plans and Policy on NATO’s International Staff from 1983 to 88 and was involved in force planning and conventional arms control. He was a Research Fellow with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy in 2008 and with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces between 2008 and 2016. He has a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Wales and an MA in War Studies from Kings College London University.

He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1959 to 61, subsequently serving as an officer in the British Army. In 2001, he was made a Commander of the Order of Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas for active support for Lithuanian membership of NATO. In 2010, he received the Georgian Order of Honour and in 2012 received the Baltic Assembly medal for support for Baltic unity.

Simon Lunn is based in Brussels.

Content by Simon Lunn

Policy brief

The challenge of Russian dual-capable missiles

In a new policy brief, ELN Senior Associate Fellows Simon Lunn and Nicholas Williams examine the dual-capable nature of Russia’s medium and short-range missiles, and their implications for NATO’s strategy. Acknowledging the relationship between the nuclear and conventional dimensions, and in the context of Putin’s menacing references to Russia’s nuclear weapons, it looks at the impact on NATO strategy at both levels.

17 July 2024 | Simon Lunn and Nicholas Williams
Russia-West relations
Policy brief

NATO’s revival of collective defence and the challenge of national commitments

As leaders gather in Washington for a three day summit to mark NATO’s 75th anniversary, ELN Senior Associate Fellows Nicholas Williams and Simon Lunn analyse the re-emergence of collective defence as a priority within the alliance, and what it means for national governments. The paper argues that NATO’s regional plans should be the subject of parliamentary scrutiny by individual national parliaments to ensure that national commitments to NATO are consistent with the resources and political aims of their respective countries.

9 July 2024 | Nicholas Williams and Simon Lunn
See all content by Simon Lunn