Rt. Hon. Michael Mates

Born in 1934, Michael was educated at Salisbury Cathedral School, Blundell's School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar. He served in the Army from 1954 to 1974, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Queen's Dragoon Guards, before retiring from the Army in order to stand for Petersfield. Michael was Member of Parliament for Petersfield from 1974 until 1983 and since then he has represented the East Hampshire constituency.

He has been the Secretary and then the Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Northern Ireland Committee and has also chaired the All-Party Anglo-Irish Parliamentary Group. He was a member of the Defence Select Committee since its formation in 1979 and its Chairman from January 1987 until the 1992 General Election. He has been Chairman of the Conservative Home Affairs Committee and is a former Joint Secretary of the 1922 Committee.

From the 1992 General Election until he resigned in June 1993, Michael was Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office where he had responsibility for security, finance and public information.

He is a member of the North Atlantic Assembly and the British-Irish Parliamentary Body and he has been a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee since 1994. He is now Chairman of the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs.

Michael was appointed to the Privy Council in February 2004.