Ian Lockhart spent his early working life in the British Royal Air Force, serving in Britain and the Far East.
After leaving the RAF, He went into banking for a few years before joining the British Diplomatic Service. After postings to New Zealand and Pakistan, He studied the Arabic language and history for two years at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies in the Lebanon. From then on until He retired in Cairo, he worked and headed many embassy departments in various Arab capital cities with one break in The Hague. Throughout his career in the Diplomatic Service, Mr Lockhart was involved with Anglo-Arab trade and development. In certain countries he also had responsibility for British aid work in that region. He was awarded an MBE in 1969 for his work in the Sudan.