Sir John Kerr

John Kerr entered the Diplomatic Service in 1966 after a Scottish upbringing. His early postings included Moscow and Pakistan, followed by work in Washington and at the Treasury, where he served as principal private secretary to two chancellors. European negotiations became a central part of his career: he was the Foreign Office’s European Community under-secretary from 1987 to 1990 and Britain’s permanent representative to the European Union from 1990 to 1995. ¹

In Washington from 1995 to 1997, Kerr concentrated on Congress as well as the administration. He recalled answering Senator Edward Kennedy’s critical correspondence personally and gradually building a working relationship through repeated exchanges and meetings. Maps of British investment in American congressional districts gave him another way to connect foreign policy with legislators’ local interests. ²

Kerr also sought congressional support for deploying American forces after the Dayton settlement in Bosnia. His oral history describes visits to senators and representatives and lobbying undertaken at the administration’s request. In a later witness seminar, colleagues discussed his attention to Congress on sanctions and the Chemical Weapons Convention. ^{2, 3}

He returned to London as permanent under-secretary and head of the Diplomatic Service from 1997 to 2002. His tenure included the restoration of British ambassadorial representation in Iran, the reopening of the embassy in Libya, and the establishment of an embassy in North Korea. After retirement he became secretary-general of the European Convention, which drafted a proposed European constitution, and entered the House of Lords in 2004. He subsequently chaired Imperial College’s governing council from 2005 to 2011. ¹

After the Brexit referendum, a 2016 Lords committee report credited him with drafting Article 50 and recorded his distinction between negotiating the financial and institutional terms of departure and negotiating the future relationship. He warned that a complete future trading agreement could not be concluded within the provision’s two year period. ⁴