Former British Ambassador to Russia, Sir Roderic Lyne joins the English-Speaking Union Lincolnshire Committee’s John Raine in conversation to talk about his varied and distinguished career and insight into current relationships at 6pm on Thursday, 13 May 2021 on Zoom. The event is free – please email Kelly Bevers for the access link at [email protected].
Son of senior RAF officer and Spitfire pilot Air Vice Marshal Michael Lyne (and point of interest for Lincolnshire locals: Commandant of RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire in 1963), Sir Roderic began to flourish only after scraping into Leeds University where he fast became a stellar student. Joining the Foreign Office, the refreshingly down-to-earth young diplomat went from strength to strength and held roles including Private Secretary to Prime Minister John Major and Assistant Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington. He was lured out of retirement from the public service front line to be part of the Chilcot Inquiry’s five-strong panel.
John Raine CMG OBE served in the UK Diplomatic Service for over 30 years until his retirement in 2017 and is currently Senior Adviser at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London where he specialises in the Middle East.