Amb. Charles Crawford

Amb. Charles Crawford is a communication and negotiation specialist and public speaking expert. A qualified barrister and mediator, he draws on 28 years’ experience in the UK diplomatic service, much of it spent in former communist central and Eastern Europe. Charles Crawford leads the Executive Communication and Technique programme at The Ambassador Partnership LLP, an international panel of former Ambassadors offering corporate diplomacy services to governments, international organizations and businesses. In his early diplomatic career he served as FCO Speechwriter to Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe. He has contributed to speeches by members of the Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers, as well as Ministers and others in public and commercial life. In 1987 he wrote the UK Foreign Office’s first Guide to Speechwriting; it remains the basis for the FCO’s speechwriting training. Since leaving the FCO at the end of 2007 he has delivered presentation skills programmes for private sector and public sector clients including the United Nations, IAEA, CTBTO, OPCW, European Commission, different European foreign ministries, the Communist Party of Vietnam, and the head of a Western intelligence agency. He appears frequently on the UK and international media to discuss international policy issues and diplomatic technique (CNN, Sky News, BBC, ITV, Voice of Russia, ABC).