Geoffrey Pattie

Chairman of Strategic Communication Laboratories, The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Pattie PC was educated at Cambridge, where he graduated with an MA Honours Degree in Law. He was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1964. He served with the Queen’s Royal Rifles (now 4th Royal Green Jackets TA) from 1959 to 1966, achieving the rank of Captain. Since January 1996, he has been Honorary Colonel of the 4th Royal Green Jackets. He was an elected member of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1970 to 1975. Having entered the advertising industry in 1959, he became a Director of Collett Dickensen Pearce, one of the country’s leading advertising agencies, from 1966 to 1979 and was Managing Director from 1969 to 1973.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Chertsey and Walton from February 1974 until April 1997. Following the General Election of May 1979, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence (RAF) then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, and from January 1983 until September 1984, Minister of State for Defence Procurement. He was then Minister of State for Industry, responsible for information technology, civil aviation, space, biotechnology and advanced research until June 1987. In that capacity, he carried through the privatisation of British Telecom in November 1984. In January 1987 he was made a Privy Counsellor.

In April 1990 Pattie was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party with particular responsibility for liaising with other parties in Europe and emerging democracies in Eastern Europe. In May 1992, he was appointed Vice-Chairman (International) of the Conservative Party. He resigned from his seat in Parliament at the General Election in 1997. He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law by Sheffield University in July 1997. He was Chairman of Marconi Electronic Systems Ltd from June 1990 to 1999, Director of Marketing at GEC plc from 1997 to 1998 and Director of Communications at GEC from 1998 to 1999. He was a Non-Executive Director of the Fairey Group from 1987 to 1993 and Chairman of the Intellectual Property Institute from 1994 to 1999.