General
Sir Mike Jackson
served as Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Army until
2006. He commanded the British in Iraq, United Nations forces in
Kosovo and peacekeeping missions in Bosnia.
General
Jackson was originally commissioned into the Intelligence Corps,
specialising in the threat from the Soviet Union. He transferred
to the Parachute Regiment and was on duty in Northern Ireland on
what became known as Bloody Sunday. He was later promoted to
Commanding Officer of 1st Para.
In
the 90s, General Jackson served in the NATO chain of command as a
deputy to Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Wesley Clark.
In the wake of the Iraq invasion in 2003 it was General Jackson,
as Chief of the General Staff, who ordered an inquiry into images
released by the Daily Mirror depicting alleged torture of Iraqi
prisoners by British soldiers.
The
General remains extremely proud of his soldier's record, whilst
openly critical of Rumsfeld's post-conflict strategy. He has also
questioned the Ministry of Defence's understanding of the ethos of
the armed forces, and the debt they are owed by Government.
Lord
Hurd,
retired as Foreign Secretary in July 1995, after a distinguished
career in Government spanning sixteen years. He served as Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland from 1984 - 85, Home Secretary from
1985 - 89 and Foreign Secretary 1989 – 1995 in the Governments of
Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
Educated
at Eton and Cambridge, Lord Hurd obtained a first class degree in
history. After joining the Diplomatic Service, he went on to
serve at the Foreign Office in Peking, New York (UN) and Rome.
He ran Edward Heath’s private office from 1968 - 70 and
acted as his Political Secretary at 10 Downing Street from 1970 -
74. He was MP for Mid-Oxfordshire (later Witney) from 1974
to 1997. He was created a Life Peer in 1997, and has since
held numerous appointments in the City and in public life.
He is Deputy Chairman of Coutts Bank.
Lord
Hurd has written ten political novels. His memoirs were
published in October 2003. His biography of the life of Sir
Robert Peel was published in June 2007. His latest book on
eleven British Foreign Secretaries will be published early in
2010.
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