Stephen Platt is Emeritus Professor of Health Policy Research at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has a longstanding research interest in social, epidemiological and cultural aspects of suicidal behaviour, and in the planning, implementation and evaluation of national suicide prevention strategies. He has been an adviser on suicide prevention research and policy to the Scottish and Irish governments. He is an ex-Vice-President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). He is co-chair of the IASP Special Interest Group (SIG) on the Development of Effective National Suicide Prevention Strategy and Practice and currently leads the IASP Partnerships for Life global initiative to prevent suicide.