Dr Munira Mirza is a Professor (Hon) in SSI, and the Chief Executive of Civic Future, a non-profit organisation that identifies and encourages talented people to enter public life and equips them with the skills and knowledge to address challenges facing the UK and liberal democracies.

Munira has worked in the policy-making arena for over twenty years, including in regional and national government. She was the Director of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit in No 10 Downing Street between 2019-2022 where she oversaw a range of domestic policy areas. She served previously for eight years as Deputy Mayor for London with responsibility for cultural, education and social policy. As well as her policy work in government, she has worked for a range of arts, cultural and charitable organisations Policy Exchange, the Royal Society of Arts, Tate, the BBC, Kings College London, City of London. In 2019 she campaigned to protect arts history education, and launched the award-winning not-for-profit cultural channel, HENI Talks. She has served as a non-executive board member of the Royal Opera House, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Illuminated River Foundation, the Royal College of Music, the Arts Council London Committee, and the West London Children’s Zone.

Munira studied English at Oxford University, and later earned a PhD in Sociology at the University of Kent, where she developed a strong interest in the intersection between cultural, social and economic policy, and studied the influence of the politics of race, religion and identity in public institutions. She has written for media publications, including Prospect Magazine, The Spectator, Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian, as well as academic journals. She appears regularly in the media discussing British politics and policy-making. Her books include: The Politics of Culture: The Case for Universalism, 2012; Living Apart Together: British Muslims and the Paradox of Multiculturalism, 2007 (co-author); Culture Vultures: is UK arts policy damaging the arts(ed.), 2006.