The Rt Hon Lord Gilbert has served as a Government Minister in the United Kingdom under three Prime Ministers, since entering the House of Commons in 1970. He was Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1974-75): Minister for transport (1975-76); and Minister of State for Defence (1976-79 and 1997-99).
He has been a member of a number of Select committees of the House of Commons, including the Expenditure, Defence, and Trade and Industry Committees. He was the senior opposition member of the Committee on Intelligence and Security from its creation in 1994 until April 1997. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1978, and was elevated to the House of Lords in 1997. He serves several companies in Europe, the UK and the US as an adviser and board member.
Born in 1927, Lord Gilbert was educated at Merchant Taylor’s School and St John’s College Oxford. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Canada, and has a PhD in International Economics and Statistics from New York University.
Lord Gilbert speaks French, German and Spanish, currently holds Private Pilot Licences for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.