Wilton Park Advisory Council Members' Biographies

DR FARHAN NIZAMI
Dr Nizami succeeded Lady Suzanne Warner as Chair of the Council at the Summer 2004 meeting. He was first appointed as a member of the Council in the winter of 1999.

Dr Nizami studied History at Wadham College, Oxford and has taught History at Oxford since 1983. He is Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Secretary to its Board of Trustees. He is also a Fellow of Magdalen College.

Dr Nizami is a member of the Court of Oxford Brookes University, the Al-Falah Council at the University of California Berkeley and the Secretary of the Oxford Trust for Islamic Studies of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

Dr Nizami has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

SIR RODRIC BRAITHWAITE GCMG
Sir Rodric Braithwaite GCMG was Ambassador at Moscow from 1988 to 1992. He thereafter served as Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister, John Major, and as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Since leaving government service he has among other things been an adviser to Deutsche Bank, Chairman of the Royal Academy of Music, and Chairman of the British Russia Centre. He is currently Chairman of the Moscow School of Political Studies, on the Board of UralMash Zavody, and on the Advisory Board of Sirocco Aviation. He is also currently Chairman of the Russia Programme, Centre for European Reform.

Sir Rodric has declared that he has no involvement in political activities.

MS RACHEL BRIGGS
Ms Rachel Briggs was appointed Head of International Strategy at Demos in 2003 and now runs Demos' Identity Programme and is a company director for Demos Projects. She was formerly Risk and Security Programme Manager at The Foreign Policy Centre from 1999-2003.

Ms Briggs has declared that she has no involvement in any political activities.

PROFESSOR VICTOR BULMER-THOMAS OBE
Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas has been Director, the Royal Institute of International Affairs since 2001 and Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of London since 1998. He is also a Director (non-executive) of Schroders Emerging Countries Fund, a Professor of Economics, and an expert on Latin America.

Lord Corbett is a former journalist and member of the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Journalists.

SIR PATRICK CORMACK MP
Sir Patrick Cormack FSA MP, Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire, is the Conservative parliamentary representative on the Council. He was first elected as MP for Cannock in 1970. Following boundary redistribution he was elected Member for South West Staffordshire in 1974 and has continued to represent this seat, now called South Staffordshire.

Sir Patrick holds no other Ministerial appointments. In Parliament he is a member of the House of Commons Commission, the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills, Standing Orders Committee and is Chairman of the All Party Arts and Heritage Group (which he founded) and of the All Party Groups for Finland and for Bosnia. He was Deputy Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs from 1997 to 2000.

Sir Patrick is a former schoolmaster.

DR RAY CUNNINGHAM
Dr Ray Cunningham has been Director of the Anglo-German Foundation (AGF) since January 2005. He is also Co-founder of the British-German Environment Forum. He was previously Deputy Director of the AGF (2001-2004), Projects Director, AGF (1991-2000), Commissioning Editor, Open University Press (1986-90), and Lektor, Wuerzburg University (1980-82)

MR NIK GOWING
Mr Nik Gowing has been a main presenter for BBC World since 1996. He is also a regular moderator of the Sunday news analysis programme, Dateline London. He has over 25 years experience of reporting on major conflicts, and lectures on media coverage of war and conflict. In September 1998 he was elected to the Council of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He is the non-party vice-chairman of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a board member for the British Association for Central and Eastern Europe, a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Birmingham's Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy, a founding committee member for the Rory Peck Trust and a governor of the Ditchley Foundation. He is also a member of the British-German Koenigswinter steering committee and is on the strategy committee of the Project on Justice in Times of Transition at Harvard University.

Mr Gowing has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

SIR DAVID GREEN KCMG
Sir David Green KCMG was appointed Director General of the British Council in July 1999. He was previously Director of VSO, deputy to the Director-General of Save the Children, and Director of Children's Relief International.

DAVID HEATH CBE MP
David Heath CBE MP, Member of Parliament for Somerton and Frome, is the Liberal Democrat parliamentary representative on the Council. He has served as MP for Somerton and Frome since 1997. He is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Leader of the House and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs.

Mr Heath holds no other Ministerial appointments. In Parliament, he is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, and a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee. He is a member of the All Parties Groups on Pharmacy, Diabetes, United Nations and Romania. He sits on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Mr Heath is a registered optician, a former leader of Somerset County Council and a former chairman of Avon and Somerset Police Authority.

MR JANUSZ HEATH
Mr Janusz Heath is a merchant banker with experience of private equity and post-privatisation issues in Central and Eastern Europe. He is currently Managing Director and Head of Asset Management at Capital Dynamics. He was formerly Managing Director of Allianz Specialised Investments Limited until August 2004, and prior to that Managing Director and Head of Central and Eastern European Private Equity at Dresdner Kleinwort Capital for six years. He was formerly Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Polskie Towarzystwo Prywatyzacyjne - Kleinwort Benson, Chief Executive of Waverley Cameron PLC, and Executive Director of Development Capital Corporation Limited's UK activities.

Mr Heath declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

MS MARY JO JACOBI
Mary Jo Jacobi has been a senior executive of several of the worlds largest corporations, including Royal Dutch Shell, Lehman Brothers and HSBC Holdings. Previously, she held senior public affairs positions in America with Drexel Burnham Lambert, 3M and the National Association of Manufacturers. She is a UK Civil Service Commissioner, a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices Wilton Park Academic Council, a Trustee of the Sir Heinz Koeppler Trust and a US-UK Fulbright Commissioner and a trustee of its Foundations.

Mary Jo has declared that she was appointed by two Republican US Presidents (as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for George H W Bush and as Special Assistant to Ronald Reagan), and acted as a spokesperson for both of them as candidates and whilst in office. She has undertaken political activity on behalf of the Republican Party in the US and the Conservative Party in the UK.

MR REIJO KEMPPINEN
Mr Reijo Kemppinen became Head of the European Commission Representation in the UK in 2005. He was Spokesman of the European Commission, President's spokesman from 2003-2004 and Head of the European Commission Representation in Finland from 2004-2005.

MR MICHAEL LEIGH
Mr Michael Leigh has worked at the European Commission since 1980. He is currently Director-General Enlargement. He was Deputy DG for External Relations from 2003-2005.

Mr Leigh has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

PROFESSOR ANAND MENON
Professor Anand Menon is an academic with experience of teaching and researching on issues in contemporary European politics. He is currently Director and Professor of European Politics at the European Research Institute, University of Birmingham. He was formerly a University Lecturer in European Politics and a Fellow of St Antony's College at the University of Oxford.

Professor Menon has declared that he has no involvement in political activities.

RT HON JOYCE QUIN
Ms Joyce Quin was Member of Parliament for Gateshead East from 1987-1997 and for Gateshead East & Washington West from 1997-2005. She was Minister of State, Home Office from 1997-98; Minister of State (for Europe) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1998-99 and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food from 1999-2001. Since 2003 she has been a Member of the Franco-British Council and is also an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Politics, University of Durham and in Regional Studies at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

SIR MICHAEL QUINLAN GCB
Sir Michael Quinlan spent many years in the public service, the majority of that time in the defence field. He has been Permanent Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Employment. After retiring from the Civil Service he was for seven years Director of the Ditchley Foundation.

Sir Michael is a Visiting Professor at King's College, London.

Sir Michael has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

MR RUPERT ROBSON
Mr Rupert Robson is Non-executive Chairman of Charles Taylor Consulting plc and Silkroutefinancial Group Ltd, Non-executive Director of Tullett Prebon plc and Tenet Group Ltd and Governor of Sherborne School and Sherborne School for Girls. Previously, he was Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group in the Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets division of HSBC plc. Prior to that, he was, variously, a Managing Director in the Global Markets Division of Citigroup, Managing Director of J O Hambro Financial Brands Ltd, Non-executive Chairman of Cattles plc and a Director of J Henry Schroder Wagg & Co Ltd.

PROFESSOR SHAMIT SAGGAR
Professor Shamit Saggar is Professor of Political Science at the University of Sussex. Since 2005 he has been the inaugural Chairman of the Law Society Consumer Complaints Board. He served as Senior Policy Adviser in the Prime Minister's Stategy Unit from 2001-03.

Professor Saggar has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

PROFESSOR PHILIPPE SANDS QC
Professor Philippe Sands has been Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on international Courts and Tribunals, University College London since January 2002. He is also Co-Director, Project on International Courts and Tribunals since 1997. He has formerly held academic positions at the Universities of Cambridge (from 1984-88) and Kings College London (from 1988-91. He was Founder and Director of Studies, Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (SOAS) from 1989-99 and Global Professor of Law, New York University School of Law, from 1994-2003.

LORD SKIDELSKY
Lord Skidelsky is Professor of Political Economy at Warwick University. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Stilwell Financial Inc. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Moscow School of Political Science. He has formerly been Chairman of the Social Market Foundation. He is the biographer of J M Keynes.

Lord Skidelsky is currently a Cross Bencher in the House of Lords. He was Opposition Spokesman in the Lords on Culture, Media and Sport from 1997 to 1998 and Chief Opposition Spokesman in the Lords on Treasury Affairs from 1998 to 1999.

SIR STEPHEN WALL GCMG LVO
Sir Stephen Wall has been Chairman (Public Affairs EMEA) at Hill & Knowlton since late 2005. He is also a member of the Council of University College, London. He Chairs the European Advisory Board of Chatham House. He is Chairman of the Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust and a Board member of Britain in Europe. Sir Stephen was British Ambassador to Portugal from 1993-95; Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1995-2000; Head of the European Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and EU adviser to the Prime Minister from 2000-04; and Principal Adviser to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster from June 2004-June 2005.

Sir Stephen has declared that he has no involvement in any political activities.

MR MYLES WICKSTEAD CBE
Myles Wickstead was, from early 2004 to late 2005, Head of Secretariat to the Commission for Africa. He has a long history of involvement with, and working in, Africa. Between 1993 and 1997 he was based in Nairobi as Head of the British Development Division in Eastern Africa, responsible for British Government development programmes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. He coordinated the 1997 Government White Paper 'Eliminating World Poverty: A Challenge for the 21st Century’; served on the Board of the World Bank (and as Development Counsellor at the British Embassy) in Washington from 1997 to 2000; and from 2000 to 2004 was based in Addis Ababa as British Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Having left Government service in late 2005, Myles' portfolio now includes: Visiting Professor (International Relations) at the Open University; Senior Advisor to the Africa Unit (Association of Commonwealth Universities); Board Chair of CONCERN UK and Independent Vice-Chair of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy; and Board member/Trustee of the British Institute in Eastern Africa, the Baring Foundation, the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), the University of Ulster UNESCO Centre, the Crown Agents Foundation, the Development Studies Association and the Advisory Council of Wilton Park.

Myles has degrees from the Universities of St Andrews and Oxford, and in the New Years Honours 2006 was appointed CBE.