On Wednesday 1 November 2006 the Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, former Defence Secretary and Foreign Secretary, will address Coporate Members and a few Special Guests on "Future Prospects for the Middle East".
Malcolm Rifkind was born in Edinburgh in 1946. He was educated at George Watson’s College and Edinburgh University where he studied law before taking a postgraduate degree in political science. While at University he took part in an overland expedition to the Middle East and India.
From 1967-69 he lived in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and taught at the local University. He travelled widely around southern Africa and wrote his postgraduate thesis on the Politics of Land in Rhodesia. While in Africa he met his wife, Edith, whose parents had emigrated there when she was a small child. On return to Britain he was called to the Bar and practised as an Advocate until 1979. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1985. During his time at the Bar he appeared in both civil and criminal cases.
In 1970 he fought his first parliamentary campaign and from 1970-74 he was a local councillor in Edinburgh. In 1974 he was elected as MP for Pentlands and represented that constituency until 1997. Sir Malcolm was appointed to the Front Bench in 1975 but resigned over devolution in 1977. In 1979, when the Conservatives were returned to power under Margaret Thatcher, he was appointed a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, at first in the Scottish Office and then, at the time of the Falklands War, he was transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, being promoted to Minister of State in 1983.
He became a member of the Cabinet in 1986 as Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1990 he became Minister of Transport and in 1992 Secretary of State for Defence. From 1995-97 he was Foreign Secretary. He was one of only four ministers to serve throughout the whole Prime Ministerships of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In 1997 he was knighted in recognition of his public service.
Since 1997 Sir Malcolm has worked in the private sector and has assisted a number of companies as a director or consultant. He is, currently, non-executive chairman of Alliance Medical Holdings and of ArmorGroup. He has also been active in a number of voluntary organisations. He is a member of the Dulverton Trust, as well as being a member of the Queen’s Bodyguard, the Royal Company of Archers.
Between 1997 and 2005 he remained active in the political world on radio and TV and in the Press. He was invited by William Hague to attend a number of Shadow Cabinet meetings and assisted with policy formulation as well as fighting his former parliamentary seat in 2001. That seat has now been abolished as a result of Boundary Commission proposals.
In May 2005 Sir Malcolm was elected the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington and Chelsea and has since been active with local residents and voluntary organisations on a range of issues throughout the constituency. He was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions shortly after being re-elected in May 2005. Since December 2005 he has chosen to sit on the backbenches, from where he can focus on international matters.
The meeting will take place at Arundel House 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3DX on the 5th floor. Teas and coffees will bge served from 10.00am, the talk will begin at 10.30am with questions from the floor on Middle East and other key international issues from 11.15am and the meeting will conclude at 12.00 noon.
Please note this is a Corporate Event only for IISS Corporate Members.
