Malcolm Rifkind

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The Right Honourable Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG KC
Rifkind in 2011
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Douglas Hurd
Succeeded by	Robin Cook
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 10 April 1992 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Tom King
Succeeded by	Michael Portillo
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 28 November 1990 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	John MacGregor
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 11 January 1986 – 28 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	George Younger
Succeeded by	Ian Lang
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Europe In office 9 June 1983 – 11 January 1986 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by Douglas Hurd Succeeded by Lynda Chalker Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs In office 6 April 1982 – 9 June 1983 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by The Lord Trefgarne Succeeded by Ray Whitney Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland In office 7 May 1979 – 6 April 1982 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Preceded by Frank McElhone Succeeded by John MacKay
Committee offices Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee In office 6 July 2010 – 24 February 2015 Preceded by Kim Howells Succeeded by Dominic Grieve Chair of the Standards and Privileges Committee In office 1 December 2009 – 12 April 2010 Preceded by David Curry Succeeded by Kevin Barron
Further offices held Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions In office 6 May 2005 – 6 December 2005 Leader Michael Howard Preceded by David Willetts Succeeded by Philip Hammond Member of Parliament for Kensington Kensington and Chelsea (2005–2010) In office 5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015 Preceded by Michael Portillo Succeeded by Victoria Borwick Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands In office 28 February 1974 – 8 April 1997 Preceded by Norman Wylie Succeeded by Lynda Clark
Personal details
Born	Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (1946-06-21) 21 June 1946 (age 77) Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Edith Steinberg ​ ​ (m. 1970; died 2019)​ Jennifer (Sherrie) Bodie ​ ​ (m. 2022)​
Children	Caroline Hugo
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh

Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG KC (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2010 to 2015. He is also known for his advocacy of a pro-European stance within his party's policies.

Rifkind was the MP for Edinburgh Pentlands from 1974 to 1997. He served in various roles as a Cabinet minister, including Secretary of State for Scotland from 1986 to 1990, Defence Secretary from 1992 to 1995, and Foreign Secretary from 1995 to 1997. In 1997, his party lost power and he lost his seat to the Labour Party. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to be re-elected in Pentlands in 2001; the constituency was abolished before the 2005 general election and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for Kensington and Chelsea. He announced his intention to seek the leadership of the party before the 2005 Conservative leadership election, but withdrew before polling commenced.

Rifkind stood for the Kensington seat and was elected at the 2010 general election with a majority of 8,616 votes. He was appointed Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, on 6 July 2010.^[1] In January 2015 he was appointed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as a member of their Eminent Persons Panel on European Security. He did not stand in the 2015 general election. In December 2015, Rifkind was appointed a visiting professor by King's College, London in their Department of War Studies. He was invited to become a Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). In July 2016, his memoirs, Power and Pragmatism, were published.