The Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan KCMG

Biography

Sir Alan Duncan was Minister of State for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from July 2016 until July 2019. He previously served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014. Alan was first elected Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton in 1992.

Education

Alan 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.

Political career

Alan 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
  • Shadow Minster for Prisons and Probation

Career outside politics

After graduating from Oxford, Alan 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.

Previous roles in government