Biographies of DFID's Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
 Gareth
Thomas has been the Member of Parliament for Harrow West since May 1997. He was
appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for
International Development (DFID) in 2003.
Prior to his appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (PUSS) he was
working as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for
Education, Charles Clarke MP.
From November 1997 to October 1999 he was a Member of the Environmental Audit
Select Committee.
Read Gareth Thomas's speeches
Gillian was appointed to the DFID ministerial team as Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for International Development on 24 January 2008.
Before joining DFID, Gillian was Cabinet Office Minister and Minister for the
East Midlands at the Cabinet Office (June 2007 – January 2008) and Parliamentary
Under-Secretary at the Department of Transport (2006- 2007).
She has also been a Government Whip and an Assistant Government Whip, as well
as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, Minister for Defence Procurement and the Minister for the Armed Forces.
Gillian was elected Member of Parliament for Lincoln in 1997. Born on 12
April 1959, she was educated at Wanstead High School and Lancaster University,
where she gained a BSc (Hons) in Management Sciences. Gillian has lived and
worked in the East Midlands for many years, starting work in 1982 as a Business
Development Adviser before becoming a Local Government Officer then a Trade
Union Official for NUPE and UNISON.
Gillian's main interests outside of politics are supporting Lincoln City
Football Club, running, gym and films. In the summer of 2005, Gillian served as
a volunteer with Voluntary Services Overseas in Guyana.
Read Gillian Merron's speeches
 Shahid
Malik is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury and was previously
Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Knight as Minister of State, Department
for Education and Skills.
He held a number of significant national roles prior to entering Parliament
including Commissioner to the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, Commissioner
for Racial Equality and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation, UK.
Shahid also served on the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Environmental
Audit Committee.
Read Shahid Malik's speeches
Last updated 4 February 2008
 Back to top
| 
Directgov |
