The Andrew Carnegie Lecture Series The Rt Hon Alistair Burt

Join the Development team for the next Carnegie Lecture at the University of St Andrews with The Rt Hon Alistair Burt and his talk titled ‘As I said to Hillary Clinton… tales from a changing world, and why international rules still matter'.

The Rt Hon Alistair Burt was appointed UK Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions in July 2026. He is Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University and a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute. Alistair was a Member of Parliament for 32 years, from 1983 to 2019, and held ministerial roles in three Conservative administrations.

His ministerial appointments included Minister of State for People with Disabilities from 1995 to 1997, Sponsor Minister for Manchester from 1994 to 1997 and Minister for Primary and Social Care from 2015 to 2016. For five years between 2010 and 2019, Alistair served as Minister for the Middle East and North Africa. He held the position of UK Commissioner for the International Commission on Missing Persons between 2013 and 2026.

Alistair has completed ten London Marathons in aid of a range of charities and was a prominent parliamentary campaigner on the infected blood scandal. His family hails from Fife and Dundee and his father, James Hendrie Burt (MB ChB 1946), is one of the University of St Andrews' oldest living alumni.

Doors open 5.45pm, all welcome.