Frost was born in Derby and was educated at Nottingham High School as a free scholar from 1976 to 1983, before attending St. John's College, Oxford,[3] where he took a first-class degree (MA) in French and history.
[3] Frost returned to London to be successively the Private Secretary to the Head of the Diplomatic Service, Sir John Kerr (now Lord Kerr of Kinlochard), and Deputy Head of the European Union External Department, covering international trade policy issues and relations with the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
It was in his capacity as CEO that he wrote an article before the Brexit referendum[8] for Portland Communications, in which he supported the case for remaining in the EU's Single Market and said that leaving it would be "fraught with economic risk".
[11] He has also served as a public commentator on the European Union, global economic and commercial issues, and multilateral diplomacy, as a member of the Advisory Council of the eurosceptic think tank Open Europe,[3] and between June and October 2016, through his industry role as head of the Scotch Whisky Association, as a member of the Scottish Government's Standing Council on Europe advising on Brexit.
The next month, he joined Net Zero Watch,[14] which spun out of the Global Warming Policy Foundation and similarly campaigns for less government funding on climate action.
[15] The trade agreement, negotiated under increasing time pressure due to the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, had to address all of these issues.
[26] On 28 June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his nomination of Frost for a life peerage and as UK National Security Adviser, succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill.
[29] The appointment was also criticised by previous Prime Minister Theresa May in Parliament, who highlighted its political nature, and said Frost does not have proven expertise in national security.
[30] Created a life peer, titled Baron Frost, of Allenton in the County of Derbyshire, on 12 August 2020, he was introduced to the House of Lords on 8 September 2020.
[44] He cited Boris Johnson's tax hikes, net zero commitments, COVID-19 regulations, and failure to seize the benefits of Brexit as the reason for his resignation.
[47] Although Frost has never held any elected positions within Parliament, he has indicated that he would be willing to stand as an MP if the opportunity arose, although this would mean resigning as a member of the House of Lords.
[49] Following the announcement in May 2024 of a July general election, it was reported that Frost had attempted to put himself forward for selection as a candidate but had been blocked from doing so by Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader at the time, denied that Frost had been blocked and said that the process of candidate selection was still ongoing.