About Stephen Gethins
Before taking up his post at the University of St Andrews as Professor of Practice in International Relations, Stephen served as the Member of Parliament for North East Fife.
During his time in Parliament, Stephen was twice chosen to sit on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, the first SNP MP to do so. He was also the SNP spokesperson on Europe and International Affairs leading the Party’s response to Brexit at Westminster and closely involved in cross-party efforts to deal with Brexit, co-sponsoring legislation to stop a No Deal Brexit.
Stephen worked on issues such as the UK’s response to the war in Syria, relations with Russia, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the conflict in Libya among others. During his terms on the Foreign Affairs Committee reports were published on military operations in Syria, China, Russia, Libya, South America and the Rohingya crisis amongst others. Stephen also led and participated in committee delegations to Iran, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
During his time in Parliament Stephen was Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Climate Change and an office bearer on the APPGs for Refugees, Climate Change, Georgia and Bosnia among others. He has made visits to refugee vcamps along the Syrian border as well as areas affected by conflicts such as those in Georgia and Ukraine.
As his party’s Europe and International Affairs spokesperson – and one of just a handful of UK parliamentarians to have worked in the EU institutions – Stephen co-authored legislation aimed at preventing a No Deal Brexit in October and November 2019, along with colleagues from other political parties including Dominic Grieve, Keir Starmer, Phillip Hammond and Jo Swinson.
Before entering Parliament Stephen worked in democratisation and peace-building primarily in the Western Balkans and South Caucasus. He was also a Special Adviser to Scotland’s First Minister on EU and International Affairs in addition to Energy and Climate Change.
Stephen has made regular appearances in Scottish, UK and international broadcast media as well as writing for print media. He has also written about Scotland’s Foreign Policy footprint in his book Nation to Nation; Scotland’s Place in the World, an issue which he also raised during his time in the House of Commons.
Stephen is on the Board of Trustees of the John Smith Trust and a Special Adviser to Beyond Borders Scotland. He is also a member of the Judging panel for the Civility in Politics Awards.
