Lord Bellingham has enjoyed a distinguished Parliamentary career of almost 40 years and held a number of senior positions including: Foreign Office Minister for Africa, The UN, Caribbean, Overseas Territories and Conflict Issues; Chairman of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy; Chairman of the All-Party Group on the Commonwealth; and the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Libya. In 2016, he was Knighted in the New Year Honours list for Parliamentary and Political Service. He sits in the House of Lords after being awarded a Life Peerage in 2020. In addition to his Parliamentary career, Lord Bellingham has held several non-executive roles on AIM companies and, until recently, was Non-Executive Chairman of Pathfinder Minerals Plc since 2014. Prior to entering Parliament, Lord Bellingham practised as a barrister having graduated from Magdalene College, Cambridge with a master's degree in Law.