Jonathan Lehrle

Former Chief of Staff to Rt. Hon. Michael Ancram QC MP. Founder Director, Global Strategy Forum

Jonathan Lehrle specialises in political campaigning and country branding.

His working life began in the Metropolitan Police, where he spent time in the Riot Squad before leaving the Force to continue his education with an MA in European Law.

He entered Westminster in 1999 as a researcher in international affairs and defence, before moving to spend five years as the Chief of Staff to the Shadow Foreign Secretary. During this period, he honed his political communications skills, dealing with a series of sensitive issues in countries including Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2006 he set up an influential foreign affairs think tank, the Global Strategy Forum.

He joined Sans Frontières in 2008 and one of his first assignments was to help run the electoral campaign which saw Rupiah Banda elected President of Zambia. He has since worked with numerous political parties and leaders in Africa, Europe and Latin America.

I work with political narrative more than anything else. My narrative is, no matter what the story, always tell the truth. If you have made mistakes, be honest; there’s nothing worse that being found out by a lie five days before polling day because you’ll never pull it back.