page_title: Daniel Hannan
section_title: Foreign policy
hierarchical_section_title: Daniel Hannan / Political positions / Foreign policy
caption_attribution_description: English: Daniel Hannan MEP, speaking at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference
context_page_description: Daniel John Hannan is a British writer, journalist and former Conservative Party politician. He is the founding President of the Initiative for Free Trade and was a Member of the European Parliament for South East England from 1999 until the United Kingdom's exit from the EU in 2020.
  He writes regular columns for The Sunday Telegraph, the International Business Times, ConservativeHome and the Washington Examiner as well as occasional columns in the Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Spectator and the Wall Street Journal. He is editor-in-chief of The Conservative, a quarterly journal of centre-right political thought. He has published several books.
  He was the first Secretary-General of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe, serving from 2009 to 2018. He was one of the founders of Vote Leave, one of the organisations that campaigned to leave the EU in 2016, and served on its board throughout the referendum, in which he played a prominent role, participating in a number of public debates.
  In December 2018, Hannan ranked 738 out of 751 MEPs for his participation in roll call votes in the European Parliament.
context_section_description: Hannan has a 'deep admiration' of the United States, and describes himself as an Atlanticist with positive views of the United States as well as other nations of the Anglosphere. Hannan claims to be supportive of free trade, arguing that the European Union blocks trade with countries such as China, India and Ethiopia.
  He opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq undertaken during the premiership of Tony Blair. He opposed British intervention in Libya.
  Hannan has proposed that British foreign policy pivot away from the European Union towards the United States and the Commonwealth.
  He endorsed then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama for President on 18 October 2008 against John McCain. He stated that a McCain presidency would mean an "imperial overstretch", particularly arguing that the U.S. should have been preparing to leave Iraq immediately.
  Hannan regretted his endorsement, which he called in his blog his "single most unpopular post" in his blogging career, and backed Mitt Romney in 2012. He argued, "Any American reader who wants to know where Obamification will lead should spend a week with me in the European Parliament. I'm working in your future and, believe me, you won't like it."
  In the 2016 United States presidential election, Hannan argued that both main parties had put forward unfit candidates, and urged Americans to vote for the Libertarian, Gary Johnson.
caption: Daniel Hannan at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 2012.
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