Rice’s Baker Institute welcomes The Right Honourable Sir Conor Burns as a nonresident fellow

Rice University’s Baker Institute welcomes Sir Conor Burns, a former member of the British Parliament, as a nonresident fellow. With a distinguished political and diplomatic career, Burns brings valuable expertise in international trade and will offer insights into trade policy, diplomacy, and elections, with a focus on both the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Burns represented Bournemouth West in Parliament from 2010–24 as a member of the Conservative Party. He served as minister of state for trade policy from 2019–20 and in 2022 and minister of state for Northern Ireland from 2021–22. Burns also served in the Northern Ireland Office, Treasury, and the former Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and was parliamentary private secretary to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his tenure as foreign secretary between 2017–18. Between 2022 and 2024, he served as the United Kingdom government envoy to the United States.

Burns studied modern history and politics at the University of Southampton, where he was later a member of the City Council. Before entering Parliament, he had a successful career in financial services and communications.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.