Malcolm Rifkind

Sir Malcolm Rifkind "served in the Foreign Office from 1982-86 as a Minister of State and from 1995-97 as Foreign Secretary. From 1992-95 he was Secretary of State for Defence. He is currently MP for Kensington and Chelsea."

"Since 2005 Sir Malcolm has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington and Chelsea. In 1974 he was elected as MP for Pentlands and represented that constituency until 1997. 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. He was also Minister of Transport until 1992 when he was appointed 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. Since December 2005 he has chosen to sit on the backbenches, from where he can focus on international matters."

"He is a member of the Dulverton Trust, a Vice President of Combat Stress and a Patron of Raleigh International. He has served on the Court of Edinburgh University and is an honorary colonel. He is a member of the Queen's Bodyguard, the Royal Company of Archers. Sir Malcolm and Lady Edith Rifkind have a daughter, Caroline and a son, Hugo, both of whom live and work in London."

His son is Hugo Rifkind.

Affiliations

 * Governor, Ditchley Foundation
 * Vice-President, Chelsea Society
 * Chair, Alliance Medical Ltd.
 * Director, Unilever
 * Director, Adam Smith International
 * Director, Continental Farmers Group
 * Former Chairman, ArmorGroup International PLC (2004-2008)
 * Trustee, Dulverton Trust
 * Advisory Board, Global Strategy Forum
 * Special Advisor, Oxford Research Group
 * Former Patron (2000), Zimbabwe Democracy Trust
 * Former Principal (2005), The Atlantic Bridge