Syed Kamall is a Professor of International Relations and Politics at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. He is also a member of the UK House of Lords, where he is a Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Commonwealth. In addition, he was recently appointed as a visiting scholar at the Vinson Centre for the Public Understanding of Economics and Entrepreneurship at the University of Buckingham. He has held the roles of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences at the Department of Health and Social Care. He was also the Academic and Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs from 2019-21. In 2011, he co-founded the Istanbul Network for Liberty with Linda Whetstone, which later became the Islam and Liberty Network whose mission is to advance the understanding of religious, political, and economic freedom for peace and prosperity in Muslim majority countries and beyond. He is passionate about non-state local community civil society organisations and regularly meets and supports local community projects tackling financial and digital exclusion. He is currently working with a microfinance lender to offer grants or loans to entrepreneurs from poorer communities. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, travelling, cycling, reading, writing and walking. He plays guitar or electric bass and sings in a blues and rock bands.
