Gerard Russell

Former Head and Spokesman for the Islamic Media Unit

Gerard Russell, is the former Head and Spokesman for the Islamic Media Unit; In this country, few would know the name of Gerard Russell, but to millions of Arabs he is the voice of Britain.

According to a report in the Telegraph, he studyed "classics at Oxford, he joined the Foreign Office in 1995 and studied Arabic in Cairo. He served three years in the British consulate-general in Jerusalem. He returned to London in 2001 and was asked to set up the Islamic Media Unit after the September 11 attacks". .

Russell participated in around 200 interviews and debates in Arabic with print and broadcast media across the Middle East on a range of foreign policy issues concerning the Middle East.

He Served as Head and Spokesman for the Islamic Media Unit until 2003 when he was succeeded by Gerry McCrudden as Head and Dean McLoughlin as Spokesman.

Current Position

Consul-General of the United Kingdom at the IIROSA headquarters in Jeddah

Previous Positions Held

In 1995 Gerard Russell participated in one of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) seminar programs in 1995 which was a field trip for participants to European capitals and the EU headquarters in Brussels for further training and experience in foreign policy, with the aim to enabling them to gain first hand experience in this field. At the time he attended in the capacity of Assistant Desk Officer, Near East & North Africa Department, FCO.