Benedict Brogan is a British former journalist, formerly deputy editor and chief political commentator of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''.Jack Sommer
"Telegraph Cuts High-Profile Journalists Benedict Brogan and Damian Thompson in Latest Cull"
''The Huffington Post'', 18 June 2014 In December 2014, six months after resigning his posts at ''The Telegraph'', Brogan was appointed group director of public affairs at

Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank w ...

."Lloyds appoints 'Telegraph' deputy editor Benedict Brogan as public affairs director"
prweek.com, 1 December 2014; accessed 2 May 2015.

Early life and education

Brogan was born to an English father and a French mother, and was brought up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He attended the Lycée Rochambeau, a French

international school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

in the Washington suburb of

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. He went on to study History at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

and then gained a Master's degree in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Career

After graduating from Cambridge, Brogan worked at '' The Herald'' as a reporter in their

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

office. He worked in a wide range of roles at the ''Herald'', becoming their Political Correspondent based in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1992. Brogan then worked for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', moved to ''

'' in 2000, moved again to the ''Daily Mail'' as Political Editor in May 2005, and finally, in February 2009, re-joined the ''Telegraph'' as Assistant Editor and chief political commentator. Media commentator

Iain Dale Iain Campbell Dale (born 15 July 1962) is a British broadcaster, author and political commentator, and a former publisher and book retailer. He has been a blogger since 2002. In 2005, he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to c ...

called the move ''"a real coup for the ''Telegraph'' and a big blow to the ''Mail''. Brogan has proved himself to be one of the best political reporters in the business but in the last year or two he has also developed into a fine commentator"'', and noted that ''The Daily Telegraph'', which at that point had an anti-

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

set of columnists, may have been trying to redress the balance. Brogan wrote the "Morning Briefing" for the ''Telegraph'', a preview of the day ahead's political events, akin to Mike Allen's ''Playbook''. ''

Total Politics ''Total Politics'' is a British political magazine described as "a lifestyle magazine for the political community". It was first published in June 2008, and is distributed freely to all MPs, MEPs, peers, political journalists, members of the Scot ...

'' referred to it as "an important resource for fellow journalists and political junkies alike". Brogan maintained a blog on the ''Telegraph'' website; it billed itself as "news, gossip, analysis, occasional insight into politics, and more". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted in 2008 that Brogan "only turned his hand to blogging in 2006, but was an almost instant success and can now expect between 3,000 and 5,000 hits on a busy day. He describes his blog as the place where 'I empty my notebook', sharing snippets of news, observations and asides that might not otherwise find a place in his newspaper. He has won admirers across the political spectrum." In mid-June 2014, Brogan left his posts at ''The Telegraph''. In December 2014, Brogan was appointed group director of public affairs at

Personal life

Brogan is married to

Melanie Dawes Dame Melanie Henrietta Dawes (born 9 March 1966) is a British economist and civil servant. Since February 2020 she has been Chief Executive of Ofcom. She was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local G ...

and together they have a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brogan, Benedict Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British people of French descent University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge British male journalists British political journalists British columnists Daily Mail journalists The Daily Telegraph people Lloyds Banking Group people