Alan Duncan Conservative

Sir Alan James Carter Duncan, KCMG (born 31 March 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Melton, and between 2010 and 2014 served as a Minister of State in the Department for International Development.

Duncan began his career in the oil industry with Royal Dutch Shell, and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1992 general election. After several minor positions in the government of John Major, he played a key role in William Hague's successful bid for the Conservative leadership in 1997. He received several promotions to the Conservative front bench until he eventually joined the Shadow Cabinet after the 2005 general election and stood for the Conservative leadership in 2005 but withdrew early on because of a lack of support. Eventual winner David Cameron appointed him Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in December 2005, the title of which was changed to Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in July 2007, now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George following the Government reshuffle in July 2014.

He is well known as the first openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament, having publicly come out in 2002.

Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Duncan