Studies at Cambridge University. Formerly: 1970s: UN Peacekeeper, Cyprus; 1987-97, Member of Parliament for Gedling; held positions of Government Whip and Minister for Social Security; 1992-93, Vice-Chairman, Conservative Party; since 2001, Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield; 2005-10, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, led party's campaign to tackle global poverty. Since May 2010, current position. Since 2007, organizes Project Umubano, a social action project where approximately 100 volunteers work on a variety of development projects in Rwanda.