"I had never left Edinburgh until I was 21. I struggled with languages at school. I had no role models in diplomacy. But 25 years later I’ve served across the world, working in five languages."
This week's Human of York is Paul Rennie, who has spent more than 25 years at the heart of global diplomacy
Paul came to York to study a Masters in Economics in 2001, and after graduating, applied to be the first diplomat economist in the UK.
"One moment you’re promoting trade and culture; the next you are arranging support for distressed citizens amid evacuations.
"That is a unique duty of diplomats: protecting nationals overseas. No PR agency or trade department can substitute for that," he said.
“Diplomacy is not elusive or elite. It is simply the professionalisation of an instinct everyone recognises. People say, 'that was very diplomatic of you.' Nobody says, 'that was very lawyerly of you' or 'that was very teacherly of you.' Diplomacy is inherent; we do it from childhood. To me, my career has been just that: an expression of an inherent human characteristic, turned into service.”
Now, he's working in Los Angeles, where he's supporting events like the 2026 World Cup, the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and even the Oscars' 100th anniversary.
