George Robertson
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen , KT , GCMG , PC (born April 12, 1946 in Port Ellen on Islay , Scotland ) is a British Labor Party politician and was British Defense Secretary from 1997 to 1999 and NATO Secretary General of 1999 to 2003.
Life
Robertson studied economics at Dundee University and received his degree in 1968. From 1968 to 1978 he served as an official for the General, Municipal and Boilermakers' Union . In 1970 he married his wife Sandra. Robertson has three children. From 1977 to 1978 he was Secretary General of the Labor Party in Scotland.
In 1978 he won the parliamentary seat in the constituency of Hamilton (from 1997 Hamilton South) and was re-elected five times. Since 1979 he was, among other things, spokesman for his party for Scotland affairs, for defense policy and for foreign and Commonwealth policy, as well as for European policy. In addition to his political functions, Robertson was a member of the board of directors of the Royal Institute of International Affairs from 1984 to 1991 and deputy chairman of the British Council from 1985 to 1994.
After the Labor election victory in 1997, Tony Blair appointed him to the cabinet as Secretary of Defense. In 1999 he gave up this post to take up his post as NATO Secretary General. On August 24, 1999, he was promoted to Life Peer as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen , of Islay in Argyll and Bute .
He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Cable & Wireless since 2003 .
Awards (selection)
- German Great Federal Cross of Merit (1991)
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania (2000)
- Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ (2003)
- Knight Grand Cross des Order of St. Michael and St. George (2003)
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2003)
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise II class (2003)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2003)
- Grand Cross of the Latvian Three Star Order (2004)
- Knight Companion of the Thistle Order (2004)
- Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award (2004) from the Prague Society for International Cooperation and Global Panel Foundation
Web links
- NATO biography (English)
- Burke's Peerage & Gentry (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Robertson, George |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Robertson, George Islay MacNeill, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British politician (Labor), Member of the House of Commons |
DATE OF BIRTH | April 12, 1946 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Port Ellen , Islay, Scotland |