Colum Wilson leads the UK Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office  Humanitarian Department.  He has 25 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector for the UK government (DFID and then FCDO) and with NGOs. He is a graduate of the UK Royal College of Defence Studies, and has a Masters degree in Strategy and International Relations. He has worked across Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia during his humanitarian career responding to rapid onset and protracted humanitarian crises. In the lat decade, he has focussed increasingly on the development of the UK’s humanitarian policy. Before turning to humanitarian work, he worked in the private sector as a Chartered civil engineer, worked as journalist, and served in the UK armed forces.