Waging the War of Ideas

John Blundell was educated at King's School, Macclesfield, and at the London School of Economics. He headed the Press, Research and Parliamentary Liaison Office at the Federation of Small Businesses from 1977 to 1982, and was a Lambeth Borough councillor from 1978 to 1982. From 1982 to 1993 he lived in the USA where he was, inter alia, president of the Institute for Humane Studies (1988-91); president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (1987-91); president of the board of the Congressional Schools of Virginia (1988-92); and president of the Charles G. Koch and Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundations (1991-2). He assumed his duties as Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs on 1 January 1993 and stepped down in 2009 to pursue lecturing and writing opportunities in the USA. He also served as co-founder and chairman, from 1993 to 1997, of the Institute for Children, Boston, MA; founder director (1991-3), Institute for Justice, Washington, DC; international trustee (1988-93), The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, BC; and founder trustee of Buckeye Institute, Dayton, OH. He was a director of Fairbridge and of the International Policy Network and chairman of the Institute Development and Relations Committee of the board of Atlas Economic Research Foundation (USA). He was also a board member of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; of the Institute of Economic Studies (Europe) in Paris, France; and of the Mont Pélerin Society.