22. October 2026 19:00
Leigh Turner CMG
Is a diplomat’s life really as glamorous as a royal visit, or as dramatic as a coup d’état in Turkey? Leigh Turner is a former British ambassador who led posts in Ukraine, Turkey and Austria. In a witty globetrotting adventure through one of the most intriguing careers a person can have, Leigh will talk about his interactions with royalty of both the aristocratic and celebrity kinds, and with brilliant and extraordinary people, and the lessons we all can draw from this – whether aspiring diplomats or non-diplomats. Based on his new book “Lessons in Diplomacy: Politics, Power and Parties“; (Bristol University Press, September 2024, published in German by Czernin Verlag as “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy: Wie Diplomatie die Welt erklärt”) Leigh will do a deep dive into key lessons such as “How to survive a crisis”, “How to handle politicians”, and “How to know people”. Have you ever wondered what diplomats and ambassadors really do? Leigh Turner will be happy to explain.
Leigh will also be prepared to sign copies of “Lessons in Diplomacy“; after his talk.
Please register for the Presseclub and online by October 20 via DBG.Rhein-Main@debrige.de
Registered Teams-participants will receive login details on October 21.
Biography:
Leigh Turner is a writer based in London. He was UK Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna from September 2016 to September 2021. Leigh‘s previous roles were as HM Consul General Istanbul and Director General for Trade and Investment Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasfus; HM Ambassador in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Director of Overseas Territories in London, responsible for territories including St Helena, the Falklands and Bermuda. He served at the British Embassy in Bonn and Berlin from 1998-2002 and stayed on in Berlin for four years from 2002-2006 as main carer for his children. Leigh grew up in Nigeria, Exeter and Lesotho, before education in Swaziland, Manchester and Cambridge. After hitch-hiking around 27 of the United States in 1979, Leigh had a 42-year diplomatic career, lessons from which he draws in his September 2024 book “Lessons in Diplomacy”. He is the author of three thrillers, including “Blood Summit” (2018), set in Berlin, and two collections of feminist black comedies, ”Seven Hotel Stories” (2020) and “Seven More Hotel Stories (2026). He is also a former writer for the Financial Times. Leigh has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, the LSE, UCL, King’s College London, Universities of York, Loughborough, St Andrews and Edinburgh, Strathclyde University, Vienna and Graz Universities, the Free University (VU) Amsterdam, the Danube University Krems and at the DBG in Bonn and Düsseldorf.
22. October 2026 19:00
Leigh Turner CMG
Venue
Frankfurter Presseclub and online via Teams
Ulmenstraße 20
60325 Frankfurt
Is a diplomat’s life really as glamorous as a royal visit, or as dramatic as a coup d’état in Turkey? Leigh Turner is a former British ambassador who led posts in Ukraine, Turkey and Austria. In a witty globetrotting adventure through one of the most intriguing careers a person can have, Leigh will talk about his interactions with royalty of both the aristocratic and celebrity kinds, and with brilliant and extraordinary people, and the lessons we all can draw from this – whether aspiring diplomats or non-diplomats. Based on his new book “Lessons in Diplomacy: Politics, Power and Parties“; (Bristol University Press, September 2024, published in German by Czernin Verlag as “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy: Wie Diplomatie die Welt erklärt”) Leigh will do a deep dive into key lessons such as “How to survive a crisis”, “How to handle politicians”, and “How to know people”. Have you ever wondered what diplomats and ambassadors really do? Leigh Turner will be happy to explain.
Leigh will also be prepared to sign copies of “Lessons in Diplomacy“; after his talk.
Please register for the Presseclub and online by October 20 via DBG.Rhein-Main@debrige.de
Registered Teams-participants will receive login details on October 21.
Biography:
Leigh Turner is a writer based in London. He was UK Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna from September 2016 to September 2021. Leigh‘s previous roles were as HM Consul General Istanbul and Director General for Trade and Investment Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasfus; HM Ambassador in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Director of Overseas Territories in London, responsible for territories including St Helena, the Falklands and Bermuda. He served at the British Embassy in Bonn and Berlin from 1998-2002 and stayed on in Berlin for four years from 2002-2006 as main carer for his children. Leigh grew up in Nigeria, Exeter and Lesotho, before education in Swaziland, Manchester and Cambridge. After hitch-hiking around 27 of the United States in 1979, Leigh had a 42-year diplomatic career, lessons from which he draws in his September 2024 book “Lessons in Diplomacy”. He is the author of three thrillers, including “Blood Summit” (2018), set in Berlin, and two collections of feminist black comedies, ”Seven Hotel Stories” (2020) and “Seven More Hotel Stories (2026). He is also a former writer for the Financial Times. Leigh has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, the LSE, UCL, King’s College London, Universities of York, Loughborough, St Andrews and Edinburgh, Strathclyde University, Vienna and Graz Universities, the Free University (VU) Amsterdam, the Danube University Krems and at the DBG in Bonn and Düsseldorf.