John Smith Memorial Trust appoints new Director,
Dr. Brian Brivati
The John Smith Memorial Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Director, Dr. Brian Brivati, who will take up the post at the end of this year. Current Director Emma MacLennan warmly welcomed the appointment: “Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position, as well as a great personal commitment to human rights and the principles of good governance. I know the Fellowship Programme will flourish under his direction.”
Dr Brivati is professor of contemporary history at Kingston University and runs their human rights programmes at BA and MA level. He was recently a member of the “Iraq Commission,” a panel of leading Ministers, MPs and thinkers who came together in the Houses of Parliament at the end of April this year to discuss the future of humanitarian intervention after the conflict in Iraq.
He has published extensive work on contemporary British politics with an emphasis on the political history of the British Labour party. Among these is “Guiding Light,” a collection of the speeches of John Smith, published in 2001. He is greatly respected as a commentator and regular broadcaster on political history.
His research and teaching has recently extended to comparative work on genocide and human rights. His articles have appeared in the Guardian, the Times, the Financial Times, the Independent on Sunday, the Observer, the New Statesman, Progress, the Fabian Review and Parliamentary Brief. His most recent book, “The End of Decline: the Blair-Brown Governments and Contemporary British History,” was published by Politico's this month.
Dr. Brivati said of his appointment, "It is a great honour to be asked to build on the great work of Emma MacLennan at the John Smith Memorial Trust. I am looking forward to meeting the Fellows and continuing to honour the memory of John Smith through the spreading of best practice in good governance and democracy through our Fellows programme. It is a huge challenge and a wonderful opportunity."
The Trust welcomes him to this important post, and looks forward to his contribution to the further development of our work.