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| name = Simon Jenkins
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FSA|FRSL}}
| image = Simon Jenkins at Policy Fight Club (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Jenkins in 2012
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| occupation = Journalist, author
| website =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage |[[Gayle Hunnicutt]] * }}
}}
'''Sir Simon David Jenkins''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FSA|FRSL}} [[Learned Society of Wales|FLSW]] (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the <!-- Only acquired the London prefix in 2009. -->''[[Evening Standard]]'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''[[The Times]]'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the [[National Trust]] from 2008 to 2014. He currently writes columns for ''[[The Guardian]]''.
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===Journalism===
After graduating from the University of Oxford, Jenkins initially worked at ''[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]'' magazine, before joining the ''[[TES (magazine)|Times Educational Supplement]].''<ref name="Guardian profile 2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2008/apr/22/simon.jenkins |title=Simon Jenkins |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 April 2008 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> He was then features editor and columnist on the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' before editing the [[Insight (Sunday Times)|Insight]] pages of ''[[The Sunday Times]]''.<ref name="Guard1">{{cite news|first=Dominic |last=Timms |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jan/27/theguardian.pressandpublishing|title=Times columnist Simon Jenkins to join the Guardian|work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 January 2005|access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="Indy">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/sir-simon-jenkins-history-man-860553.html|title=Sir Simon Jenkins: History Man|last=McSmith|first=Andy|author-link = Andy McSmith|date=5 July 2008|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref> From 1976 to 1978 he was editor of the ''Evening Standard'', before becoming political editor of ''[[The Economist]]'' from 1979 to 1986.<ref name="Cornwall Lecture">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecornwalllecture.com/portfolio/simon-jenkins/ |title=Simon Jenkins |website=The Cornwall Lecture |publisher=[[University of Exeter]] |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> He edited ''[[The Times]]'' from 1990 to 1992,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/royals/interviews/jenkins.html |title=The Princess and the Press |work=[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> and since then has been a columnist for ''The Times'' and ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name="Indy"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/about-us/our-people/landmark-ambassadors/sir-simon-jenkins/ |title=Sir Simon Jenkins |website=[[Landmark Trust]] |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524224625/https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/about-us/our-people/landmark-ambassadors/sir-simon-jenkins/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1998 he received the ''[[What the Papers Say]]'' Journalist of the Year award.<ref name="Guard1"/>
In January 2005, he announced he was ending his 15-year association with ''The Times'' to write a book, before joining ''The Guardian'' as a columnist.<ref name="Guard1"/> He retained a column at ''The Sunday Times'' and was a contributing blogger at ''[[The Huffington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-jenkins|title=Simon Jenkins @ The Huffington Post|author=Jenkins, Simon|date=9 September 2010|access-date=15 September 2010|work=The Huffington Post}}</ref> He gave up both on becoming chairman of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] in 2008, when he also resumed an occasional column for the ''Evening Standard''.<ref name="PG">{{cite magazine|title=Simon Jenkins column returns to Evening Standard|url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=42855|first=Dominic|author=Ponsford|date=19 January 2009|magazine=Press Gazette|access-date=1 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616101729/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=42855|archive-date=16 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
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In April 2009, ''The Guardian'' withdrew one of Jenkins' articles from its website after [[African National Congress]] leader and South African president-elect [[Jacob Zuma]] sued the paper for defamation.<ref name="M&G">{{cite news|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-04-14-zuma-sues-londons-guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415233214/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-04-14-zuma-sues-londons-guardian |title=Zuma sues London's Guardian|date=14 April 2009|work=[[Mail & Guardian]] |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' issued an apology,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/guardian-forced-apologise-jacob-zuma/900365 |title=Guardian forced to apologise to Jacob Zuma |first=Ben |last=Bold |work=[[Campaign (magazine)|Campaign]] |date=22 April 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/21/corrections-jacob-zuma |title=Corrections and clarifications: Jacob Zuma |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> and settled the libel case for an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-safrica-zuma/south-africas-zuma-accepts-libel-damages-from-uk-paper-idUSTRE56T3GS20090730 |title=South Africa's Zuma accepts libel damages from UK paper |work=[[Reuters]] |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/zuma-wins-damages-from-uk-newspaper-453434 |title=Zuma wins damages from UK newspaper |first=Karyn |last=Maughan |work=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]] |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>
In February 2010, Jenkins argued in a ''Guardian'' article that British control over the [[Falkland Islands]] was
In a piece in ''The Guardian'' in June 2010 he wrote that the government should "cut [defence], all £45 billion of it. ... With the end of the [[Cold War]] in the 1990s that threat [of global communism] vanished."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/08/cuts-armed-services-fantasy-enemies |title=My once-in-a-generation cut? The armed forces. All of them
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Jenkins voted for the UK to Remain within the European Union in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]], arguing in ''The Guardian'' that leaving would provide Germany with dominance over the remainder of the union: "It would leave Germany effectively alone at the head of Europe, alternately hesitant and bullying".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/16/german-dominance-remain-eu-referendum-britain-votes-stay|title=I fear German dominance. That's why I'm for remaining in the EU|first=Simon |last=Jenkins |date=16 June 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref>
In March 2024, Jenkins wrote critically of [[NATO]]'s growing recklessness in the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|conflict in Ukraine]] as it "reached predictable stalemate", fearing the war would "run out of control". Jenkins argued that Western Europe had no interest in escalating the war by supplying longer-range missiles, and its interests lay in seeking an early settlement and rebuilding Ukraine. He argued the "crass ineptitude of a quarter of a century of western military interventions" should have taught us lessons to be applied in this conflict.<ref name=guardian-20240305>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/05/nato-ukraine-russia-germany-military-leak |title=Nato is growing reckless over Ukraine – and Russia's German military leak proves it |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |newspaper=The Guardian |date=5 March 2024 |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref>
In May 2024, following the [[2024 United Kingdom local elections|local elections]], he wrote calling [[Directly elected mayors in England|metro mayors]] a "farce of local democracy" advocating their abolition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2024-05-06 |title=England's metro mayors make a farce of local democracy. They must be scrapped |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/06/england-metro-mayors-local-democracy-local-politics-keir-starmer |access-date=2024-05-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
===Books===
Jenkins has written several books on the [[Politics of England|politics]], [[History of England|history]] and [[architecture of England]], including ''England's Thousand Best Churches''<ref>Jenkins, Simon (2003) "England's Thousand Best Churches", ''Manchester Memoirs''; vol. 140 (2001–02), pp. 10–20 (part of a lecture he gave to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 29 October 2001)</ref> and ''England's Thousand Best Houses''.<ref name="Indy"/> In his 2011 book ''A Short History of England'', he argued that the [[British Empire]] "was a remarkable institution that dismantled itself in good order".<ref name="Times 03.09.2011">{{cite news|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/books/article3148517.ece|title=Simon Jenkins's potted history of England|author=Kamm, Oliver|date=3 September 2011|newspaper=[[The Times]]}}</ref>
In 2022, Jenkins' book, ''The Celts: A Sceptical History'', stoked some controversy on account of Jenkins incredulous view of the [[Celts]] as a distinct cultural entity. The release of the work was met with a number of hostile reviews from specialists in Celtic studies, with these critics of the book alleging factual errors in the work as well as of the misrepresentation of sources.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nation.cymru/culture/review-the-celts-a-sceptical-history-by-simon-jenkins/|title=Review: The Celts, A Sceptical History, by Simon Jenkins|author=Rodway, Simon|date=1 July 2022|newspaper=[[Nation.Cymru]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/20254985.celts-sceptical-history-simon-jenkins-book-review/|title=Review: The Celts, A Sceptical History, by Simon Jenkins. Book Review|author=Mabbot, Alastair|date=8 July 2022|newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theirishstory.com/2022/12/28/book-review-the-celt-a-sceptical-history/#.Y6-f5XZBy00|title=Book Review: The Celts, A Sceptical History, by Simon Jenkins|author=Fresne, Patrick|date=28 December 2022|newspaper=The Irish Story}}</ref>
===Public appointments===
Jenkins served on the boards of [[British Rail]] 1979–1990<ref name="Cornwall Lecture"/> and [[London Regional Transport|London Transport]] 1984–1986.<ref name="Cornwall Lecture"/> He was a member of the [[Millennium Commission]] from February 1994 to December 2000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millennium.gov.uk/about/commissioners.html|title=Millennium Commissioners|publisher=Millennium Commission|access-date=5 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330011140/http://www.millennium.gov.uk/about/commissioners.html|archive-date=30 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and has also sat on the
In July 2008, it was announced that he had been chosen as the new chairman of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]; he took over the three-year post from [[Proby baronets|William Proby]] in November of that year.<ref name="Guard2">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jul/03/heritage.conservation|title=Writer Simon Jenkins to chair National Trust|author=Kennedy, Maev|author-link=Maev Kennedy|date=3 July 2008|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref> He remained in the post until November 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2014/06/27062014-national-trust-chairman-tim-parker/ |title=National Trust appoints new chairman |first=Simon |last=Stephens |website=[[Museums Association]] |date=27 June 2014 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>
▲Jenkins wrote in ''The Guardian'' that [[Rishi Sunak]]'s aids as Prime Minister were "young, sneakered, tieless image-makers, and fiercely loyal to him." They were "special advisers, thinktanks and lobby groups isolated from the world outside."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/07/rishi-sunak-margaret-thatcher-wise-advice-backbenches Rishi Sunak has surrounded himself with yes-men. What he really needs is a Willie] ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>
==Personal life and honours==
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Jenkins was appointed a [[Knight Bachelor]] for services to [[journalism]] in the [[2004 New Year Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=57155 |date=31 December 2003 |pages=1–28 |supp=1 }}</ref>
In 2022, Jenkins was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=The Learned Society of |title=Simon Jenkins |url=https://www.learnedsociety.wales/fellow/simon-jenkins/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=The Learned Society of Wales |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Selected works==
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*Simon Jenkins (1979) ''Newspapers: The Power and the Money'', Faber, {{ISBN|0-571-11468-7}}
*Simon Jenkins (1981) ''Newspapers Through the Looking-glass'', Manchester Statistical Society, {{ISBN|0-85336-058-8}}
*[[Max Hastings|Sir Max Hastings]] and Simon Jenkins (1984) ''Battle for the Falklands'', M Joseph, {{ISBN|0-7181-2578-9}}
*Simon Jenkins and Anne Sloman (1985) ''With Respect, Ambassador: Enquiry into the Foreign Office'', BBC, {{ISBN|0-563-20329-3}}
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*Simon Jenkins (2018) ''A Short History of Europe: From Pericles to Putin'', Penguin Books, {{ISBN|978-0-241-35252-6}}
*Simon Jenkins (2022) ''Cathedrals: Masterpieces of Architecture, Feats of Engineering, Icons of Faith'', Rizzoli, {{ISBN|978-0847871407}}
*Simon Jenkins (2022) ''The Celts: A Sceptical History'', Profile Books, {{ISBN|978-1800810662}}
==References==
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*[https://www.theguardian.com/profile/simonjenkins Simon Jenkins columns] at ''[[The Guardian]]''
*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-jenkins Simon Jenkins columns] at ''[[The Huffington Post]]''
*[https://www.standard.co.uk/biography/simon-jenkins Simon Jenkins columns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616200834/https://www.standard.co.uk/biography/simon-jenkins |date=16 June 2015 }} at the ''[[London Evening Standard]]''
*[http://www.spectator.co.uk/author/simon-jenkins/ Simon Jenkins columns] at ''[[The Spectator]]''
*{{Journalisted|simon-jenkins}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130602210942/http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/j/770/Simon+David.aspx ''Debrett's People of Today'']
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British Rail people]]
[[Category:
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English newspaper editors]]
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[[Category:The Times people]]
[[Category:Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales]]
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