Rt Hon Lord Robertson KT of Port Ellen KT GCMG

Trustee

THE Rt Hon Lord Robertson KT of Port Ellen served as the tenth Secretary General of NATO from 1999 to 2003.

George Robertson was Secretary of State for Defence from 1997 to 1999, and was Labour MP for Hamilton and then Hamilton South from 1978 to 1999. He is now Executive Deputy Chairman of Cable and Wireless plc.

Born in Islay, Argyll, he was educated at Dunoon Grammar School and the University of Dundee (MA (hons)), graduating in 1968.

He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Social Services Secretary in 1979 and in the years of opposition he was a front bench spokesman on Defence and Foreign Affairs.

He was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in 1993 and served as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland until the 1997 election.

He was appointed Secretary of Defence after Labour's election victory and in 1999 he was chosen to be Secretary General of NATO.

He has been honoured by many countries. He was awarded the GCMG in 2004 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, from President Bush in 2003. He was elected an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2003.

He is Chairman of the John Smith Memorial Trust, Joint President of Chatham House (RIIA) and Hon Regimental Colonel of the London Scottish (Volunteers).

He is a Non-Executive director of the Smith Group plc, the Weir Group plc and is a Councillor at the Cohen Group (USA).