After Dinner Speakers: Geoff Hoon, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Yolanda Adams

Geoffrey Hoon was appointed Secretary of State for Defence in 1999, as successor to Lord Robertson who took up the post of Secretary General of NATO. Member of Parliament for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire since April 1992 Geoffrey previously in the Lord Chancellor's Department as Parliamentary Secretary from May 1997, and was promoted to Minister of State there in July 1998. He then joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in May 1999 and was made Minister for Europe on 29 July. Prior to his Westminster career Mr Hoon was Member of the European Parliament for Derbyshire and Ashfield serving on the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. A Law graduate and Professor Geoffrey Hoon was a practising barrister in the 1980s. A widely experienced and well-informed public figure, Geoffrey Hoon is a tremendously articulate and interesting speaker.