Jane Kinninmont joined The Elders in 2018, focussing on conflict countries and regions. Previously she was senior research fellow and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at policy research institute Chatham House, where she developed and led projects on issues including the dynamics of change in Gulf countries, the political economy of the Arab uprisings, post-invasion Iraq, the politics of sectarianism, and trends in regional geopolitics in an increasingly multipolar world. Before that, she worked as a political analyst and economic forecaster specialising in the Middle East and Africa, with roles including Associate Director for MEA at the Economist Group, Senior Editor/Economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, and Managing Editor for MEA at Business Monitor International.

Jane has provided strategic advice for a wide variety of governments and companies, and has written for The Economist, FT, Guardian, Prospect, Newsweek, BBC and many others. She has a BA from Oxford University and an MSc from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Jane is also a published poet and in another life she would like to write novels. She has two lovely daughters.