John Watts



Having worked for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair until leaving to run Brown Lloyd James’ Qatar office in July 2007, John Watts is experienced working with and representing public figures at the very highest levels of government and society.

As Special Advisor to Tony Blair, John was responsible for organising the Prime Minister’s external presentation at government events, public meetings and visits within the UK and globally in front of the British and international media.

Many events achieved global coverage including the G8 Summit at Gleneagles attended by figures like President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin, the historic conclusion of devolution to Northern Ireland in June 2007 and the Prime Minister’s involvement in the successful London 2012 Olympics bid.

This experience has enhanced his skills in diplomacy, public affairs, media handling and visual presentation.

Prior to working for Prime Minister Blair, John was Director of Conferences and Events for the British Labour Party. Responsible for the presentation of the party’s 2005 general election campaign, he was also charged with delivering Europe’s largest annual political convention. As Communications Manager through the 2001 general election, he was responsible for building party relationship with voters through telephone banks and databases.

John Watts has worked as a consultant in Australia and managed events at top-level public policy conventions that have included President Clinton, President Lula of Brazil and President Mbeki of South Africa.

Originally from Stratford upon Avon, he was educated in Britain and has travelled extensively across the Middle East. He took further studies in Arabic and Middle East Affairs at Birzeit University in Palestine as well as in the Sultanate of Oman during high school.