George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen
Encyclopedia
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, (born 12 April 1946) is a British
Labour Party
politician who was the tenth Secretary General
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana
in that position. He served as Defence Secretary
for the United Kingdom
from 1997 to 1999, before taking up his NATO position and becoming a life peer
as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, of Islay
in Argyll and Bute
.
, Isle of Islay, Scotland
, the son of a policeman, he was educated at Dunoon Grammar School
and studied Economics
at the Queen's College, Dundee
. When he was 15 years of age, he was involved with protests against US nuclear submarines docking in the UK.
During Robertson's time at Queen's College it broke away from the University of St Andrews
to become the University of Dundee
, of which Robertson was one of the first graduates (MA
, 1968). During his time at University he played a full part in student life. Notably he wrote a column for the student newspaper Annasach, launched in 1967, and took an active role in student protests. Robertson used his newspaper column to back the new University and encouraged his fellow students to take a University of Dundee degree (students who had started before 1967 could opt to take a degree from either the University of Dundee or the University of St Andrews). In 1968 Robertson was one of a number of Dundee students to invade the pitch during a rugby match at St. Andrews involving a team from the Orange Free State
to protest against apartheid. The same year he organsised a 24-hour work-in by students in the university library in opposition to proposed cuts by the government in student grants.
Lord Robertson married Sandra Wallace on 1 June 1970. They are the parents of three children: Malcolm, Martin and Rachael.
Robertson survived a serious crash in January 1977 of his car with a Navy Land Rover
, which was carrying 100 lb of gelignite
and a box of detonators, and hit his car head-on in the Drumochter Pass, leaving him with two wrecked knees and a broken jaw. Robertson was wearing a seat belt at the time and attributes his survival to this factor.
. After Labour won the 1997 General Election
, Robertson was appointed Secretary of State for Defence
, a position he held until he resigned from the Cabinet
in order to become Secretary General of NATO
in 1999.
stone dead" while he was Shadow
Secretary of State for Scotland
. This quote was designed to assuage fears that devolution would provide a greater platform for the Scottish National Party
(SNP). Robertson's quote has been frequently recalled, usually in a mocking fashion, after the SNP won Scottish Parliament
elections in 2007
and 2011
.
where gunman Thomas Hamilton
went on the rampage in 1996, murdering 16 children and their teacher. After the massacre, Mr Robertson, a long-time resident of the town, acted as a spokesman for the victims' families. He was also a key figure in the subsequent campaign that led to the ban on handguns in England, Wales and Scotland.
In 2003, the Sunday Herald
newspaper ran an article entitled "Should the Dunblane dossier be kept secret?", a reference to documents relating to the Cullen Inquiry into the massacre which are to remain classified
for 100 years. In a discussion board on the newspaper's website
, anonymous contributors claimed that Robertson had signed a recommendation for a gun licence for Thomas Hamilton in his capacity as Hamilton's MP
. In fact, Robertson had never been the gunman's MP, and the claims were totally unfounded. Robertson sued the Sunday Herald and the paper settled by paying him a five-figure sum plus costs. A subsequent action by Robertson, related to the terms of the newspaper's apology, was unsuccessful. The first case became an important test case
as to whether publishers can be held responsible for comments posted on their websites.
, and Cable and Wireless.
In addition, Lord Robertson is a Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group
, a consulting firm in Washington D.C. that provides advice and assistance in marketing and regulatory affairs.
|-
|-
|-
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician who was the tenth Secretary General
Secretary General of NATO
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the chairman of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision-making organisation of the defence alliance. The Secretary-General also serves as the leader of the organisation's staff and as its chief spokesman...
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana
Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
in that position. He served as Defence Secretary
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1997 to 1999, before taking up his NATO position and becoming a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, of Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
in Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
.
Early life
Born in Port EllenPort Ellen
Port Ellen is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland.Port Ellen is named after the wife of the founder, Frederick Campbell of Islay. Its previous name, Leòdamas, is derived from old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour"....
, Isle of Islay, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the son of a policeman, he was educated at Dunoon Grammar School
Dunoon Grammar School
Dunoon Grammar School is a secondary school in Dunoon, Argyll, Scotland. It was founded in 1641.It is currently a non-denominational comprehensive school which covers all stages from S1 to S6 .-Building:...
and studied Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the Queen's College, Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
. When he was 15 years of age, he was involved with protests against US nuclear submarines docking in the UK.
During Robertson's time at Queen's College it broke away from the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
to become the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
, of which Robertson was one of the first graduates (MA
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
, 1968). During his time at University he played a full part in student life. Notably he wrote a column for the student newspaper Annasach, launched in 1967, and took an active role in student protests. Robertson used his newspaper column to back the new University and encouraged his fellow students to take a University of Dundee degree (students who had started before 1967 could opt to take a degree from either the University of Dundee or the University of St Andrews). In 1968 Robertson was one of a number of Dundee students to invade the pitch during a rugby match at St. Andrews involving a team from the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
to protest against apartheid. The same year he organsised a 24-hour work-in by students in the university library in opposition to proposed cuts by the government in student grants.
Lord Robertson married Sandra Wallace on 1 June 1970. They are the parents of three children: Malcolm, Martin and Rachael.
Robertson survived a serious crash in January 1977 of his car with a Navy Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
, which was carrying 100 lb of gelignite
Gelignite
Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...
and a box of detonators, and hit his car head-on in the Drumochter Pass, leaving him with two wrecked knees and a broken jaw. Robertson was wearing a seat belt at the time and attributes his survival to this factor.
Political career
He was six times elected to the United Kingdom House of Commons, was Chairman of the Labour Party in Scotland, and was appointed to the Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
. After Labour won the 1997 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, Robertson was appointed Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
, a position he held until he resigned from the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
in order to become Secretary General of NATO
Secretary General of NATO
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the chairman of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision-making organisation of the defence alliance. The Secretary-General also serves as the leader of the organisation's staff and as its chief spokesman...
in 1999.
Quote on devolution
In 1995, Robertson said that "Devolution will kill NationalismScottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
stone dead" while he was Shadow
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
. This quote was designed to assuage fears that devolution would provide a greater platform for the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP). Robertson's quote has been frequently recalled, usually in a mocking fashion, after the SNP won Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
elections in 2007
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
and 2011
Scottish Parliament election, 2011
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...
.
Dunblane libel action
Robertson's three children are former pupils of the school in DunblaneDunblane
Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...
where gunman Thomas Hamilton
Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
went on the rampage in 1996, murdering 16 children and their teacher. After the massacre, Mr Robertson, a long-time resident of the town, acted as a spokesman for the victims' families. He was also a key figure in the subsequent campaign that led to the ban on handguns in England, Wales and Scotland.
In 2003, the Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
newspaper ran an article entitled "Should the Dunblane dossier be kept secret?", a reference to documents relating to the Cullen Inquiry into the massacre which are to remain classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
for 100 years. In a discussion board on the newspaper's website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, anonymous contributors claimed that Robertson had signed a recommendation for a gun licence for Thomas Hamilton in his capacity as Hamilton's MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. In fact, Robertson had never been the gunman's MP, and the claims were totally unfounded. Robertson sued the Sunday Herald and the paper settled by paying him a five-figure sum plus costs. A subsequent action by Robertson, related to the terms of the newspaper's apology, was unsuccessful. The first case became an important test case
Test case
A test case in software engineering is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is working correctly or not. The mechanism for determining whether a software program or system has passed or failed such a test is known as a test...
as to whether publishers can be held responsible for comments posted on their websites.
After NATO
Robertson has received numerous honours (including a total of 12 Honorary doctorates from various universities). Currently he holds directorships of several notable companies in the UK, including the Weir GroupWeir Group
The Weir Group plc is an engineering company headquartered in East Kilbride, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
, and Cable and Wireless.
In addition, Lord Robertson is a Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group
The Cohen Group
The Cohen Group is a firm providing advice to corporate leadership and assistance in marketing and regulatory affairs. It is based in Washington, D.C. with offices in Beijing and Tianjin, People's Republic of China.-History:...
, a consulting firm in Washington D.C. that provides advice and assistance in marketing and regulatory affairs.
Career
- 1968–1978, Official of the GMB Union for the Scottish whisky industry.
- 1978–1999, Member of the United Kingdom House of Commons, member for HamiltonHamilton (UK Parliament constituency)Hamilton was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.- History :...
or Hamilton SouthHamilton South (UK Parliament constituency)Hamilton South was burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Formed in 1997 from the Hamilton constituency, it was abolished in 2005 and parts of the constituency went to make the constituencies of Lanark and Hamilton East and Rutherglen and...
, elected six times. - 1979, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Social Services.
- 1979–??, Opposition Spokesman on Scottish AffairsScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 19??–82, Opposition Spokesman on Defence.
- 1982–93, Opposition Spokesman on Foreign AffairsForeign AffairsForeign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
. - 1983–93, Chief Opposition Spokesman on Europe.
- 1993–97, Shadow Secretary of State for ScotlandSecretary of State for ScotlandThe Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
. - May 1997, Appointed to the Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United KingdomHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
- May 1997 – October 1999, Defence Secretary of the United KingdomSecretary of State for DefenceThe Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
- October 1999 – January 2004, 10th Secretary General of NATOSecretary General of NATOThe Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the chairman of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision-making organisation of the defence alliance. The Secretary-General also serves as the leader of the organisation's staff and as its chief spokesman...
and Chairman of the North Atlantic CouncilNorth Atlantic CouncilNorth Atlantic Council is the most senior political governing body of NATO established by Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The NAC can be held at the Permanent Representative Level , or can be composed of member states' Ministers of State, Defense, or Heads of Government. The NAC has the...
.
Other former or present posts
- Chairman of the Labour Party in Scotland
- Vice-chairman of the Westminster Foundation for DemocracyWestminster Foundation for DemocracyThe Westminster Foundation for Democracy is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body set up to promote democratic institutions overseas. It was established in March 1992 and registered as a company limited by guarantee. It receives funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the...
- Vice-Chairman of the British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
for nine years - Vice-Chairman of the Britain-Russia Centre
- Member of the Council of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham HouseChatham HouseChatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
) seven years, now President - Member of the Pilgrims SocietyPilgrims SocietyThe Pilgrims Society, founded in 1902, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace between the United States and Great Britain'...
- Governor of the Ditchley FoundationDitchley FoundationThe Ditchley Foundation is a British organisation based at Ditchley House near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, which aims to promote international relations, especially Anglo-American relations, through a programme of around fifteen annual conferences on matters of international interest...
- Trustee of the 21st Century Trust
- Patron to the British-American ProjectBritish-American ProjectThe British-American Project is a fellowship of some 600 leaders and opinion formers from a broad spectrum of occupations, backgrounds and political viewpoints, drawn in equal numbers from the United States and the United Kingdom...
- Currently serves on the Board of Cable & WirelessCable & WirelessCable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
International - Currently serves on the Board of The Weir GroupWeir GroupThe Weir Group plc is an engineering company headquartered in East Kilbride, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
PLC - Currently serves on the Board of The TNK-BPTNK-BPTNK-BP is a major vertically integrated Russian oil company. It is Russia's third largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. TNK-BP is Russia's third largest oil company in terms of reserves and crude oil production...
- Currently serves on the Global Panel America Advisory Board
- Currently a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferationTop Level GroupThe Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation is a cross-party parliamentary group in the United Kingdom, whose primary focus is the advancement of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda in Britain and internationally...
, established in October 2009.
Honours and awards
- 4th recipient of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship AwardHanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship AwardThe Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award is given annually to people who have dedicated their lives to public service. It was established in 2000 by the Prague Society for International Cooperation and the Global Panel Foundation and is named in honor of the Prague Society's President Marc S....
- 2004 Order of the Cross of Terra MarianaOrder of the Cross of Terra MarianaThe Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana was instituted in 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is bestowed upon the President of the Republic. Presidents of the Republic who have ceased to hold office shall keep the Order of the Cross of...
, First class - 30 November 2004 – Knight of the Order of the ThistleOrder of the ThistleThe Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
- 12 November 2003 – Presidential Medal of FreedomPresidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
(United States) - 8 September 2003 – Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje Nassau (KnightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-NassauOrder of Orange-NassauThe Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
). - 2003 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
- 2000 – Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania
- 24 August 1999 – created a life peerLife peerIn the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen. - 1 December 2003 - Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IVGrand Order of King Petar Krešimir IVThe Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IV , or more fully the Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IV with sash and Morning Star , is an order of the Republic of Croatia. It ranks third in the Croatian order of precedence after the Grand Order of Queen Jelena. The next order in rank is the Grand...
(CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
) - 1993 – joint Parliamentarian of the Year for his role in the Maastricht TreatyMaastricht TreatyThe Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
ratification - 1991 – Grand Cross of the German Order of MeritBundesverdienstkreuzThe Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
- Honorary Regimental Colonel of the London ScottishLondon Scottish (regiment)The London Scottish is a unit of the British Army. Formerly a regiment, the unit is now a company of The London Regiment.-Founding of the regiment:...
(Volunteers) - Honorary Doctorate from the University of PaisleyUniversity of PaisleyThe University of the West of Scotland is a university operating from four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Hamilton, Ayr and Dumfries. The present institution dates from August 2007, following the merger of the University of Paisley with Bell College, Hamilton...
(awarded 5 July 2006) - Honorary Doctorate from the University of DundeeUniversity of DundeeThe University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of BradfordUniversity of BradfordThe University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
- Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield UniversityCranfield UniversityCranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
(Royal Military College of Science) - Honorary Doctorate from the Baku State UniversityBaku State UniversityBaku State University is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the University started with faculties of history and philology; physics and mathematics; law and medicine with an initial enrollment of 1094...
, AzerbaijanAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to... - Fellow of the Royal Society of ArtsRoyal Society of ArtsThe Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
(FRSA) - Fellow of the Royal Society of EdinburghRoyal Society of EdinburghThe Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(FRSERoyal Society of EdinburghThe Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
) - Elder Brother of Trinity HouseTrinity HouseThe Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
. - 2003 - Atlantic Solidarity Award bestowed by the Manfred Wörner FoundationManfred Wörner FoundationThe Manfred Wörner Foundation is a Bulgarian not-for-profit non-governmental organization established on October 20, 1994, and registered in 1996.-Mission:...
External links
- Lord Robertson of Port Ellen profile, www.parliament.uk
|-
|-
|-