Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Geoffrey Charles Van Orden (born 10 April 1945) is a British

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served as

Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament The Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament was the most senior Conservative Member of the European Parliament. The post was last held by Geoffrey Van Orden, who succeeded Ashley Fox in 2019. His term ended after the United Kingdom ...

from 2019 to 2020. He was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the East of England

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

from 1999 to 2020.

Early life and career

Van Orden was born in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in 1945. He attended the

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cade ...

and was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1964. He read politics at Sussex University from 1966 to 1969. He was promoted

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1966, Captain in 1970, Major in 1977,

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in 1983,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in 1988, and

in 1991. He began his military career in Borneo during the Confrontation war with Sukarno's Indonesia. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) at the age of 27 for special duties in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, at the height of the terrorist campaign. He spent many years in Germany, including 5 years in Berlin where, in 1989, he was Chief of Staff of the British Sector and head of the military intelligence staff when the

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the sup ...

fell. He was a member of the Cabinet office intelligence Assessment Staff. He attended the Indian Defence Services Staff College and was an instructor at the German General Staff College College (''Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr'') from 1985 to 1988 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. His last military appointment was at NATO headquarters in Brussels where he headed the secretariat of the International Military Staff. He resigned his commission in 1995 in order to enter politics. While seeking a parliamentary seat he became a senior advisor in the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

in the field of foreign and security policy issues. He held this post until 1999, when he was elected as a

for the Conservative Party.

European Parliament

Defence and security

Following his election to the European Parliament, he became the Conservatives' spokesman for Foreign, Defence and Security policy. He was one-time Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and remained a member of that committee and of the Security and Defence (SEDE) sub-committee. He has been the Conservative Defence & Security Spokesman for nearly two decades. He has led the opposition to EU defence integration and advanced the need for revitalisation of the NATO Alliance. He has been active in the promotion of Britain's defence industries.

Foreign affairs

He has long-standing experience of India, was a founder member of the Parliament's "Friends of India" group, Chairman of the Europe-India Chamber of Commerce and, since 2014, Chairman of the parliament's official Delegation for Relations with India. He also chairs the "Friends of Sri Lanka" and "Friends of Zimbabwe", where he was a consistent and outspoken opponent of the Mugabe regime. He was elected as the Co-Chairman of the Asia-Europe Political Forum, involving some 360 political parties from 52 Asian countries. During the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union, Van Orden was the rapporteur for

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, and regularly reported on the progress of the country with regard to EU membership requirements. His final report in November 2006 confirmed Bulgaria's preparedness to join the EU.

Terrorism

He is Vice Chairman of the Special Committee on Terrorism. His commitment to counter-terrorism has informed some of his involvement in countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Israel and the Gulf states.

European Conservatives & Reformists

He was instrumental in the creation of the ''European Conservatives & Reformists'' (ECR) political group in the European Parliament, an event that had the aim of building support for conservative change in the European Union. He was its Vice Chairman for most of the time since its foundation in 2009, growing to become the third largest of eight groups in the Parliament, with members from 18 countries. He is also the Founding President of its think-tank, ''New Direction - the Foundation for European Reform'', whose patron was Baroness Thatcher (her last major public event was to launch New Direction, in the City of London).

Political positions

Van Orden has said he is a eurosceptic seeking reform of the EU while trying to avoid a total break. He is opposed to European political integration. He believes in and facilitates the enlargement of the EU so as to make an ever closer union more difficult to achieve. He is opposed to British membership of the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

, the

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an un ratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

and the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...

. He had long campaigned for the Conservative Party to end their association with the European People's Party in the European Parliament, an aim which was finally achieved in 2009. Van Orden was the last Conservative MEP to declare a position prior to the Brexit referendum. He opted to vote to remain for pragmatic reasons, in particular to avoid the UK suffering economic disruption and loss of influence, giving control of the continent to Berlin and Paris. Van Orden is a founding president of the New Direction

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

and is also a member of the

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with i ...

think tank.

Personal life

Geoffrey van Orden married Frances Elizabeth "Fanny" Weir in 1974. The couple have three daughters. He is a member of the

Countryside Alliance The Countryside Alliance (CA) is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as farming, rural services, small businesses and field sports, aiming to "Give Rural Britain a voice". History The Countryside Alliance ...

and the BASC. He was a research associate at the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

and a Service fellow of King's College London as well as Freeman of the City of London and the Worshipful Company of Painter- Stainers.

References

External links

Profile at European Parliament website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Orden, Geoffrey 1945 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex Conservative Party (UK) MEPs Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School People from Waterlooville Commanders of the Order of the British Empire MEPs for England 1999–2004 MEPs for England 2004–2009 MEPs for England 2009–2014 MEPs for England 2014–2019 MEPs for England 2019–2020 Intelligence Corps officers