BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 8951, 5 November 2020 The NATO Parliamentary By Nigel Walker Assembly and UK delegations Contents: 1. Summary 2. UK delegations 3. Appendix 1: Alphabetical list of UK delegates 1955-present www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK delegations Contents 1. Summary 3 1.1 NATO Parliamentary Assembly in brief 3 1.2 The UK Delegation 6 2. UK delegations 8 2.1 2019-2024 Parliament 9 2.2 2017-2019 Parliament 10 2.3 2015-2017 Parliament 11 2.4 2010-2015 Parliament 12 2.5 2005-2010 Parliament 13 2.6 2001-2005 Parliament 14 2.7 1997-2001 Parliament 15 2.8 1992-1997 Parliament 16 2.9 1987-1992 Parliament 17 2.10 1983-1987 Parliament 18 2.11 1979-1983 Parliament 19 2.12 Oct1974-1979 Parliament 20 2.13 Feb-Oct 1974 Parliament 21 2.14 1970- Feb1974 Parliament 22 2.15 1966-1970 Parliament 23 2.16 1964-1966 Parliament 24 2.17 1959-1964 Parliament 25 2.18 1955-1959 Parliament 26 3. Appendix 1: Alphabetical list of UK delegates 1955- present 28 Cover page image copyright: Image 15116584265_f2355b15bb_o, NATO Parliamentary Assembly Pre-Summit Conference in London, 2 September 2014 by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) – Flickr home page. Licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license/ image cropped. 3 Commons Library Briefing, 5 November 2020 1. Summary Since being formed in 1965, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has provided a forum for parliamentarians from the NATO Member States to promote debate on key security challenges, facilitate mutual understanding and support national parliamentary oversight of defence matters. The Assembly also helps to strengthen the transatlantic relationship and provides many opportunities for North American and European parliamentarians to discuss their concerns, interests and differences. 1.1 NATO Parliamentary Assembly in brief Background 65 years ago – on the 18 July 1955 – 158 parliamentarians from 14 NATO nations attended a six-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Paris. This first “Conference of Members of Parliament from the NATO Countries” soon became the “NATO Parliamentarians’ Conference”. In 1966 delegates at the 12th Conference unanimously agreed to rename the organisation the “North Atlantic Assembly”. Meanwhile, with France withdrawing from NATO’s military structure that year, NATO moved its headquarters from Paris to Brussels. The Assembly headquarters moved to Brussels two years later. The North Atlantic Assembly was renamed the “NATO Parliamentary Assembly” (NATO PA) in 1999. That NATO PA website has detailed information on the Assembly’s history. Membership The NATO Parliamentary Assembly consists of 269 delegates from the 30 NATO Member States. Each delegation is based on the country’s size and the UK has 18 seats in the Assembly. In addition to delegations from NATO Member States, delegates from associate countries and parliamentary observer delegations take part in Assembly activities and bring the total number of delegates to approximately 360. Structure The Assembly’s government body is the Standing Committee, which is comprised of the Head of each member delegation, the President and Vice-Presidents of the NATO PA, the Treasurer and the Secretary General. Seven UK delegates have served as President since the organisation was founded. 4 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK delegations UK delegates who served as NATO PA Presidents Madeleine Moon 2018-19 Hugh Bayley 2012-14 Dr Patrick Duffy 1988-90 Maj. Sir Patrick Wall 1983-85 Sir Geoffrey de Freitas 1977-79 John Peel 1972-73 Lord Crathorne 1962-63 Note: A complete list of Presidents from 1955-2019 is available online.1 The Assembly has five Committees – the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security; Defence and Security Committee; Economics and Security Committee; Political Committee; and the Science and Technology Committee – and eight sub-committees. Much of the Assembly’s work is carried out by these committees, whose remit is to examine the major security and policy challenges confronting the Alliance. The Sub-committees explore policy issues in more detail. The Secretary-General leads the International Secretariat, responsible for all of the Assembly’s administration and the majority of research and analysis that supports the Assembly’s Committees, Sub-Committees and other groups. Note: See the NATO Parliamentary Assembly website for further information.2 Assembly activities The Assembly meets as a whole twice a year: a Spring Session and an Annual Session in the autumn. There are some 40 other activities held each year, with most of the Assembly’s substantive work carried out by its five committees and eight sub-committees. These committees produce reports on critical issues affecting the Alliance and, to inform their discussions, receive briefings from experts and senior officials from government and international organisations, as well as attending fact-finding missions. 1 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly website has a complete list of Presidents from 1955-2019 2 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly website has a complete list and further information on the Secretary General and the International Secretariat. 5 Commons Library Briefing, 5 November 2020 The NATO PA also has an extensive outreach programme with non- member parliaments and activities such as election monitoring. Relations with NATO Although institutionally separate from NATO, the Assembly is an essential link between NATO and the parliaments of NATO Member States. The Assembly’s decision-making body – the Standing Committee – holds annual meetings at NATO headquarters with NATO’s Secretary General and the Permanent Representatives to the North Atlantic Council. The NATO Secretary General addresses members of the Assembly at the Spring and Annual Sessions and the NATO PA President addresses Summit meetings of NATO Heads of State and Government. One of the more visible synergies between NATO and the Assembly’s work is the NATO Secretary General providing a written response to the committee reports endorsed by the Assembly at its Annual Session. 6 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK delegations 1.2 The UK Delegation The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is one of three interparliamentary assemblies to which the UK Parliament sends delegations.3 The UK has 18 seats in the NATO PA and delegation members are formally appointed in a Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. One member is also appointed to be leader of the UK delegation. Leaders of UK delegations Rt Hon Alec Shelbrooke MP 2020- Rt Hon Richard Benyon MP 2015-2019 Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP 2010-2015 Rt Hon Bruce George MP 2005-2010 Rt Hon Lord Clark of Windermere 2001-2005 Rt Hon Donald Anderson MP 1997-2001 Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith MP 1987-1997 Maj. Sir Patrick Wall MC VRD MP 1979-1987 Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey de Freitas MP 1974-1979 Sir John Peel MP 1970-1974 Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey de Freitas MP 1969 Robert Edwards MP 1967-1968 Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey de Freitas MP 1964-1966 Rt Hon Lord Crathorne(a) 1958-1964 Col. Rt Hon Walter Elliot CH MC MP 1955-1957 a) Lord Crathorne led the UK Delegation as a Member of the House of Commons (Rt Hon Sir Thomas Dugdale MP) in 1958 and as a Member of the House of Lords 1959-64. The delegation is cross-party and filled with members from both Houses of Parliament, with membership reflecting the political party balance in the House of Commons at the time of the most recent General Election. Delegates must be backbenchers and, consequently, some have gaps in their service to the Assembly as they held Ministerial posts in the interim. One UK delegate – Harold Wilson MP – later went on to be the Prime Minister and five delegates have served on the Assembly from both Houses of Parliament. 3 The UK Parliament sends delegations to three interparliamentary assemblies: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly. 7 Commons Library Briefing, 5 November 2020 Box 1: Delegates serving from both Chambers There are five delegates who have represented the UK from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with Lord Anderson, Lord Campbell and Lord Jopling currently delegates: Rt Hon Donald Anderson PC DL MP – Rt Hon Lord Anderson of Swansea PC DL Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell CBE PC QC MP – Rt Hon Lord Campbell of Pittenweem CH CBE PC QC Dr David Clark MP – Rt Hon Lord Clark of Windermere PC Rt Hon Sir Thomas Dugdale Bt PC TD MP – Rt Hon Lord Crathorne Bt PC TD Rt Hon Michael Jopling PC DL MP – Rt Hon Lord Jopling PC DL The UK delegation represents the UK Parliament, not the Government, and plays an active role in the activities of the Assembly, through membership of its Committees and groups and participation in plenary meetings. The UK has hosted several sessions of the NATO PA, most recently welcoming the Assembly for its 2019 Annual Session that took place in London during October of that year. On occasions where the UK hosts sessions, members of both Houses have opportunities to attend some meetings while not official delegates, but as members of relevant Select Committees, for example. The UK has experienced delegations, with five Members and Peers having served more than 20 years on the Assembly, including two current delegates. a) Current delegates 8 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK delegations 2. UK delegations Members and Peers are appointed for the duration of a Parliament, although they may inform their Chief Whip if they no longer wish to serve on the delegation. Members remain as Delegation members for up to six months following the date of a General Election or until a new delegation is appointed.