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Jonathan Charles is a strategic communications and geopolitics expert, reputation management consultant and broadcaster.
Jonathan was a familiar voice and face after thirty years on BBC Television and Radio. He was a BBC Foreign and War Correspondent covering some of the biggest stories of recent years, reporting on 29 wars and conflicts including Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Northern Ireland and a host of others, winning several awards for his journalism.
Jonathan established television operations for the BBC in Brussels and Frankfurt, and operated in many conflict zones throughout the world.
For five years, he presented the television news on BBC1, BBC World News and BBC News Channel.
After leaving the BBC, he spent almost twelve years as Managing Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Here Jonathan frequently met world leaders as part of negotiating agreements and helped to run a multilateral institution investing 12 billion Euros a year across three continents.
Now Jonathan advises presidents, governments and multinational companies on geopolitics, reforms and communication strategies.
Jonathan was educated at Oriel College, Oxford University where he studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He worked as a freelance reporter for the BBC from 1980 to 1986 when he then joined ITN before returning to the BBC with a permanent position as News Reporter and Correspondent.
He became a familiar face reporting from across the world reporting on major stories including the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars, the Balkan conflict, the 2001 Afghan war and the Moscow theatre siege among many others. Jonathan also made many current affairs films for BBC TV’s Money Programme and Correspondent strands.
Jonathan Charles has been the recipient of several journalism awards over the course of his career.
Among the personal highlights of his Jonathan’s career are interviewing Nelson Mandela twice and once being told off by Margaret Thatcher because she didn’t like a question he had asked.
Following his career as a BBC journalist, Jonathan made documentaries on reggae music, Babylon, mass tourism, mercenaries in Africa among other topics.
When he isn’t advising presidents, governments and multinational companies on geopolitics, he indulges his love of music on vinyl, presenting two weekly radio shows which are broadcast on forty commercial radio stations to an audience of half a million listeners.
Jonathan is highly skilled conference host, after-dinner speaker, awards and events host.
As a speaker, his specialist areas include but are not limited to:
Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book award winning former BBC Correspondent and geopolitics expert Jonathan Charles for your next event. Contact us.