Sir Alan Duncan MP

The Right Honourable Sir Alan Duncan KCMG MP was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 17 July 2016. He was elected Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton since 1992.
Sir Alan Duncan attended Beechwood Park School in Hertfordshire and Merchant Taylors’ School before going on to study politics and economics at St John’s College, Oxford from 1976 to 1979, where he was elected President of the Oxford Union. He then went on to win a Kennedy Scholarship at Harvard University, where he studied from 1981 to 1982.
After graduating from Oxford, Sir Alan Duncan worked with Shell International between 1979 and 1981, and then as an oil trader for Marc Rich and Co from 1982 to 1988. Between 1988 and 1992, he was an independent consultant and adviser to foreign governments, specialising in oil supplies, shipping and refining. In 1989, he set up the independent Harcourt Consultants to advise on oil and gas matters, and has specialised in the Middle East for 30 years.
He previously served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014. Sir Alan Duncan held a number of roles in the Shadow Cabinet before being appointed to his International Development position. His roles have included: Shadow Health Minister, Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry, Shadow Foreign Minister, Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Shadow Secretary for International Development, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation. From 2014 to 2016 he held the post of the government’s Special Envoy to Yemen.
In July 2014 Sir Alan Duncan was knighted, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).
Since July 2016, he has served as Minister of State for Europe and the Americas. In such a capacity Sir Alan Duncan is responsible for relations with the Americas (including Cuba), Europe (including all parts of the former Soviet Union and Turkey), NATO, OSCE and Council of Europe as well as for relations with the UK Parliament. He also deals with various issues related to European security, defence and international security, the Falklands, polar regions, migration, protocol, human resources, Foreign & Commonwealth Office finance, knowledge and technology.