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The Department For International Development (DFID) is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current Secretary of State for International Development is Andrew Mitchell. A 2010 report ^[2] by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) identified DFID as 'an international development leader in times of global crisis'.

DFID's main programme areas of work are Education, Health, Social Services, Water Supply and Sanitation, Government and Civil Society, Economic Sector (including Infrastructure, Production Sectors and Developing Planning), Environment Protection, Research, and Humanitarian Assistance.

In 2009/10 DFID’s Gross Public Expenditure on Development was £6.65bn. Of this £3.96bn was spent on Bilateral Aid (including debt relief, humanitarian assistance and project funding) and £2.46bn was spent on Multilateral Aid (including support to the EU, World Bank, UN and other related agencies).^[3] Although the Department for International Development’s foreign aid budget was not affected by the cuts outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s 2010 spending review, DFID will see their administration budgets slashed by approximately 19 percent over the next four years. This would mean a reduction in back-office costs to account for only 2 percent of their total spend by 2015.^[4]

The National Audit Office (NAO) 2009 Performance Management review ^[5] looks at how DFID has restructured its performance management arrangements over the last 6 years. The report responded to a request from DFID’s Accounting Officer to re-visit the topic periodically, which the Comptroller and Auditor General agreed would be valuable. The study found that DFID had improved in its general scrutiny of progress in reducing poverty and of progress towards divisional goals, however noted that there was still clear scope for further improvement.

Ministers[link]

The DFID Ministers are as follows: ^[6]

The Permanent Secretary from 2008 until the end of March 2011 at DFID was Nemat (Minouche) Shafik.^[7] The current Permanent Secretary is Mark Lowcock.^[8][9]

History[link]

The Department has its origins in the Ministry of Overseas Development (ODM) created during the Labour government of 1964–70, which combined the functions of the Department of Technical Cooperation and the overseas aid policy functions of the Foreign, Commonwealth Relations, and Colonial Offices and of other government departments.

After the election of a Conservative government in October 1970, the Ministry of Overseas Development was incorporated into the Foreign Office and renamed the Overseas Development Administration (ODA). The ODA was overseen by a minister of state in the Foreign Office who was accountable to the Foreign Secretary. Though it became a section of the Foreign Office, the ODA was relatively self-contained with its own minister, and the policies, procedures, and staff remained largely intact.

When it was returned to office in 1974, the Labour government announced that there would once again be a separate Ministry of Overseas Development with its own minister. From June 1975 the powers of the minister for overseas development were formally transferred to the foreign secretary.

In 1977, partly to shore up its difficult relations with U.K. business, the government introduced the Aid and Trade Provision. This enabled aid to be linked to nonconcessionary export credits, with both aid and export credits tied to procurement of British goods and services. Pressure for this provision from U.K. businesses and the Department of Trade and Industry arose in part because of the introduction of French mixed credit programs, which had begun to offer French government support from aid funds for exports, including for projects in countries to which France had not previously given substantial aid.

After the election of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the ministry was transferred back to the Foreign Office, as a functional wing again named the Overseas Development Administration. The ODA continued to be represented in the cabinet by the foreign secretary while the minister for overseas development, who had day-to-day responsibility for development matters, held the rank of minister of state within the Foreign Office.

In the 1980s part of the agency's operations were relocated to East Kilbride, with a view to creating jobs in an area subject to long-term industrial decline.

Role[link]

Over its history the department for international development and its predecessors have been independent departments or part of the foreign office.^[10] In 1997 Labour separated the Department for International Development from the Foreign Office. They also reduced the amount of aid tied to purchasing British goods and services which often led to aid being spent ineffectually.^[11]

Along with the Nordic countries DfID has generally avoided setting up its own programs as that can create unnecessary bureaucracy.^[12] To achieve this DfID currently distributes most of its money to governments and other international organisations that have already developed suitable programmes and lets them distribute the money as efficiently as possible.^[12]

In 2010 DfID were criticised for spending around £15 million a year in the UK, although this only accounts for 0.25% of their total budget.^[13] £1.85 million was given to the Foreign Office to fund the Papal visit of Pope Benedict in September 2010, although a department spokesman said that "The contribution recognised the Catholic Church's role as a major provider of health and education services in developing countries".^[14] There has also been criticism of some spending by international organisations with UNESCO and the FAO being particularly weak.^[15] The government were also criticised for increasing the aid budget at a time where other departments were being cut. The head of the conservative pressure group Taxpayers Alliance said that "The department should at least get the same treatment other high priority areas like science did – a cash freeze would save billions.".^[16]

Pergau Dam[link]

When it was the Overseas Development Association, a scandal erupted concerning the UK funding of a hydroelectric dam on the Pergau River in Malaysia, near the Thai border. Building work began in 1991 with money from the UK foreign aid budget. Concurrently, the Malaysian government bought around £1 billion worth of arms from the UK. The suggested linkage of arms deals to aid became the subject of a UK government inquiry from March 1994. In November 1994, after an application for judicial review (R v Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ex p The World Development Movement) brought by the World Development Movement, the High Court held that the then-Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd had acted ultra vires (outside of his power and therefore illegally) by allocating £234 million towards the funding of the dam, on the grounds that it was not of economic or humanitarian benefit to the Malaysian people.^[17]

Mission[link]

The main piece of legislation governing DFID's work is the International Development Act, which came into force on 17 June 2002, replacing the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act (1980). The Act makes poverty reduction the focus of DFID's work, and effectively outlaws tied aid.^[18]

As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, DFID works to support the United Nations' eight "Millennium Development Goals", namely to:

• halve the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger
• ensure that all children receive primary education
• promote sexual equality and give women a stronger voice
• reduce child death rates
• improve the health of mothers
• combat HIV & AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• make sure the environment is protected
• build a global partnership for those working in development.

all with a 2015 deadline.

The reality may well be that none of these goals will be achieved so long as the trade gap between Africa and richer countries continues to widen. Former Secretary of State Hilary Benn has indicated that on current trends, we will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.^[19] Although by 2010, mainly thanks to high growth in India and China who had 62% of the world's poor in 1990 there has been significant global progress towards meeting the millennium goals.^[20]

In 2010 the incoming coalition government promised to reduce back-office costs to only 2% of the budget and to improve transparency by publishing more on their website.^[15]

DFID research[link]

DFID is the largest bilateral donor of development-focused research. New science, technologies and ideas are crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, but global research investments are insufficient to match needs and do not focus on the priorities of the poor. Many technological and policy innovations require an international scale of research effort. For example, DFID was a major donor to the International LUBILOSA Programme: which developed a biological pesticide for locust control in support of small-holder farmers in the Sahel.

DFID Research commissions research to help fill this gap, aiming to ensure tangible outcomes on the livelihoods of the poor worldwide. They also seek to influence the international and UK research agendas, putting poverty reduction and the needs of the poor at the forefront of global research efforts.

DFID Research manages long-term research initiatives that cut across individual countries or regions, and only funds activities if there are clear opportunities and mechanisms for the research to have a significant impact on poverty.

Research is funded through a range of mechanisms, including Research Programme Consortia (RPCs), jointly with other funders of development research, with UK Research Councils and with multilateral agencies (such as the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Health Organisation).^[21] Information on both DFID current research programmes and completed research can be found on the Research4Development (R4D) portal.

DFID launched its first Research Strategy in April 2008.^[22] This emphasises DFID's commitment to funding high quality research that aims to find solutions and ways of reducing global poverty. The new strategy identifies six priorities:

• Growth ^[23]
• Health ^[24]
• Sustainable Agriculture ^[25]
• Climate Change ^[26]
• Governance in Challenging Environments ^[27]
• Future Challenges and Opportunities ^[28]

The strategy also highlights three important cross-cutting areas, where DFID will invest more funding:

• Capacity Building ^[29]
• Research Communication and Uptake ^[30]
• Stimulating Demand for Research ^[31]

DFID has recently reviewed progress on its Research Strategy [1]

UKaid rebranding[link]

As of July 2009, DFID embarked on a rebranding effort in the developing world in order to make clear that its contributions are coming from the United Kingdom.^[32] While the decision was met with some controversy among aid workers, Commons International Development Select Committee Chairman Malcolm Bruce justified the rebranding, claiming that "the name DfID does not reflect the fact that this is a British organisation; it could be anything. The Americans have USAID, Canada has got CIDA."^[33]

See also[link]

• Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies
• United Kingdom budget
• Stabilisation Unit

References[link]

External links[link]

• DFID Homepage
• NL-Aid
• Article on DFID's use of consultants
• DFID's Research4Development (R4D) portal, which provides information on DFID-funded research
• CE-DAT: the Complex Emergency Database Managed by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
• MyPlatform2 A new initiative set up by DFID to encourage British youths from deprived backgrounds to get some experience in International Development.

Video clips[link]

• DFID YouTube channel

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Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates at the World Economic Forum in 2011
Born	Melinda Ann French (1964-08-15) August 15, 1964 (age 47) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Residence	Medina, Washington, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Duke University
Occupation	Co-Chair, operator of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Bill Gates (m. 1994) «start: (1994)»"Marriage: Bill Gates to Melinda Gates" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Melinda_Gates)
Children	Jennifer Katharine Gates - (b. 1996) Rory John Gates - (b. 1999) Phoebe Adele Gates - (b. 2002)
Website
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Home Page

Melinda French Gates (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964)^[1] is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Bill Gates. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former unit manager for several Microsoft products such as Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.

Personal life[link]

Melinda and Bill Gates in June 2009.

Melinda was born in Dallas, Texas. She was the second of four children born to Raymond Joseph French, Jr., an engineer, and Elaine Agnes Amerland, a homemaker. She has an older sister and two younger brothers.^[2] Gates, a Roman Catholic, attended St. Monica Catholic School,^[3][4] where she was the top student in her class year. She graduated as valedictorian from Ursuline Academy of Dallas in 1982. Gates earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

Shortly thereafter, she joined Microsoft and participated in the development of many of Microsoft’s multimedia products including Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.^[5]

In 1994, she married Bill Gates in a private ceremony held in Lanai, Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, she left Microsoft to focus on starting and raising her family. Her last position was Microsoft’s General Manager of Information Products. Melinda and Bill Gates have three children: daughters Jennifer Katharine Gates (born 1996) and Phoebe Adele Gates (born 2002), and son Rory John Gates (born 1999).

Melinda served as a member of Duke University's board of trustees from 1996 to 2003.^[6] Gates attends Bilderberg Group conferences and holds a seat on the board of directors of the Washington Post company.^[7] She retired from the board of Drugstore.com in August 2006 to spend more time working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.^[8]

As of 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates have donated more than US$24 billion to the Foundation.^[9]

Awards and recognition[link]

In December 2005, Melinda and Bill Gates were named by Time as Persons of the Year alongside Bono. Melinda and Bill Gates received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on May 4, 2006 in recognition of their world impact through charitable giving.^[10] In November 2006, Melinda and Bill Gates were awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education, particularly in Mexico, and specifically in the program "Un país de lectores".

She was ranked #40 in Forbes 2008 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women,^[11] #24 in 2007,^[12] and #12 in 2006.^[13]

On June 12, 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates received honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge. Their benefaction of $210 million in 2000 set up the Gates Cambridge Trust, which funds postgraduate scholars from outside the UK to study at the University.

Melinda has also donated over 10 million dollars to her high school Ursuline Academy of Dallas. She is one of the major donors of their Facing the Future Campaign and was honored in their dedication ceremony on May 7, 2010.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melinda Gates

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Melinda Gates on Charlie Rose
• Melinda Gates at TED Conferences
• Melinda Gates at the Internet Movie Database
• Melinda Gates at the Notable Names Database
• Melinda Gates collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Melinda Gates in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Melinda Gates Goes Public, Fortune magazine, January 4, 2008

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

The Right Honourable Douglas Alexander MP
Shadow Foreign Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 January 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Yvette Cooper
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 8 October 2010 – 20 January 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Yvette Cooper
Succeeded by	Liam Byrne
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader	Harriet Harman Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Andrew Mitchell
Succeeded by	Harriet Harman
Secretary of State for International Development
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Hilary Benn
Succeeded by	Andrew Mitchell
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 6 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Alistair Darling
Succeeded by	Des Browne
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 6 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Alistair Darling
Succeeded by	Ruth Kelly
Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs
In office 5 May 2005 – 6 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Denis MacShane
Succeeded by	Geoff Hoon
In office 8 September 2004 – 5 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Mike O'Brien (Trade)
Succeeded by	Ian Pearson
Minister for the Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 13 June 2003 – 8 September 2004
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Lord Macdonald of Tradeston
Succeeded by	Alan Milburn
Member of Parliament for Paisley and Renfrewshire South Paisley South (1997–2005)
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 November 1997
Preceded by	Gordon McMaster
Majority	16,614 (41.54%)
Personal details
Born	(1967-10-26) 26 October 1967 (age 44) Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Lester B. Pearson College University of Edinburgh University of Pennsylvania
Religion	Church of Scotland
Website	Official website

Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a British Labour Party politician, who is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the shadow cabinet of Ed Miliband. He has held cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Secretary of State for Scotland (2006–07) and Secretary of State for International Development (2007–10). He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Paisley & Renfrewshire South constituency, having first been elected to parliament in 1997.

Born in Glasgow, Alexander was first elected to parliament as the Labour Party candidate in the Paisley South by-election in 1997. In 2003, he became a junior minister and held several non-cabinet positions including Minister for Europe (2005–06). For the 2005 General Election, Alexander's Paisley South constituency was abolished, and he was elected in its successor seat, Paisley & Renfrewshire South, which takes in most of Paisley town centre and southern areas of the town, as well as the towns of Glenburn, Howwood, Johnstone, Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch. From 2006-07, he held the two cabinet posts of Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Transport. Following Tony Blair's resignation in June 2007, Alexander became the Secretary of State for International Development, a post he held throughout Brown's premiership.

Following Labour's 2010 election defeat and subsequent election of Ed Miliband as party leader, Alexander was made the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions until January 2011, when following a cabinet re-shuffle, he was appointed the Shadow Foreign Secretary,

Background[link]

Alexander was born in Glasgow, the son of a Church of Scotland minister, Douglas N. Alexander, and a doctor. Much of his childhood was spent in Bishopton in Renfrewshire. A prominent member of the 1st Bishopton Company of the Boys Brigade, he played bugle in the Company's marching band helping them win the Scottish BB Marching Band Championship in 1981. Alexander attended Park Mains High School in Erskine, also in Renfrewshire, from where he joined the Labour Party as a school boy in 1982.

In 1984 he won a Scottish scholarship to attend Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada, where he gained the International Baccalaureate Diploma, returning to Scotland to study politics and modern history at the University of Edinburgh. He spent 1988/89, the third of his four undergraduate years, at the University of Pennsylvania as part of the exchange scheme between Edinburgh and Penn. Whilst studying in America, he worked for Michael Dukakis during the 1988 American Presidential Election campaign, he also worked for a Democratic senator in Washington DC. He graduated from Edinburgh with a first-class degree in 1990.

Family and personal life[link]

His sister, Wendy Alexander, was also involved in politics as an MSP until 2011 and briefly as the Leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament until she resigned in 2008. His father, a Church of Scotland minister, conducted the funeral of the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, Donald Dewar at Glasgow Cathedral in 2000. He is married to Jacqueline Christian and they have two children. He is the great-nephew of Cecil Frances Alexander.^[1]

Early career[link]

In 1990 he worked as a speech-writer and parliamentary researcher for Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Gordon Brown. He returned to Edinburgh to study for an LL.B. at Edinburgh University, where he won the Novice Moot Trophy and graduated with Distinction in 1993. He then qualified as a solicitor. On qualifying as a solicitor he worked for a firm of solicitors in Edinburgh, which he left after six months.

Political career[link]

Whilst still studying, in 1995, with friends in the local party and the backing of Gordon Brown—his mentor—he was selected to be the Scottish Labour Party candidate at the Perth and Kinross by-election caused by the death of the long serving flamboyant Conservative MP Nicholas Fairbairn. The by-election came in the middle of the Major government and was won by Roseanna Cunningham of the Scottish National Party, but Alexander did well and received enough votes to push the Conservative candidate into third place. This brought him to the attention of Tony Blair – and hotfoot from his defeat by the SNP he was welcomed at the Scottish Labour Party Conference in the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness where he spoke immediately before Blair in the critical debate on abolition of Clause 4.4 of the Party Constitution.

The Perth and Kinross constituency was abolished, but Alexander was again chosen to be the Labour candidate in the newly drawn Perth constituency at the 1997 general election. He was pushed into third place behind the SNP and the Conservatives.

Member of Parliament[link]

On 28 July 1997 the Labour Member of Parliament for Paisley South, Gordon McMaster, committed suicide. Alexander, who grew up in Renfrewshire, was chosen to contest the by-election and he was duly elected to serve as the Member of Parliament for Paisley South on 6 November 1997.

Minister of state[link]

Alexander took a successful co-ordinating role in his party's campaign for the 2001 general election. He was rewarded by Tony Blair and was appointed as the Minister of State with responsibility for "e-commerce and competitiveness" at the Department of Trade and Industry in June 2001. In May 2002, Alexander was transferred to the Cabinet Office as Minister of State.^[2]

In June 2003 Alexander was promoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and in September 2004 was moved to Minister of State for Trade at both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Cabinet minister[link]

After the 2005 general election, he was given the role of Minister of State for Europe, part of the Foreign Office, with special provision to attend Cabinet. On 7 June 2005, he was made a Member of the Privy Council. On 5 May 2006 he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport and, simultaneously, Secretary of State for Scotland, replacing Alistair Darling, where he oversaw the running of the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.

Following Gordon Brown's appointment as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007, he appointed Douglas Alexander as Secretary of State for International Development.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)

External links[link]

• Douglas Alexander MP official site
• Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP at the Foreign Office
• Douglas Alexander at the Department of Trade and Industry
• Douglas Alexander at Dfid
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Steering safely down the middle, Gillian Bowditch interview in The Sunday Times Scotland, 24 September 2006
• Douglas Alexander profile in The New Statesman

v t e Brown Cabinet Cabinet Members Lord Adonis • Bob Ainsworth • Douglas Alexander • Baroness Ashton • Ed Balls • Hilary Benn • Hazel Blears • Ben Bradshaw • Gordon Brown • Des Browne • Liam Byrne • Andy Burnham • Yvette Cooper • Alistair Darling • John Denham • Peter Hain • Harriet Harman • Geoff Hoon • John Hutton • Alan Johnson • Tessa Jowell • Ruth Kelly • Lord Mandelson • David Miliband • Ed Miliband • Jim Murphy • Paul Murphy • James Purnell • Baroness Royall • Jacqui Smith • Jack Straw • Shaun Woodward Also Attended Meetings Margaret Beckett • Nick Brown • Lord Drayson • Caroline Flint • Lord Grocott • John Healey • Jim Knight • Lord Malloch-Brown • Pat McFadden • Tony McNulty • Baroness Scotland Attended While on Agenda Beverley Hughes • Sadiq Khan • Dawn Primarolo • Rosie Winterton

v t e Secretaries of State for Scotland of the United Kingdom Scotland Office Secretary of State for Scotland 1707–1746 Erskine · Douglas · Erskine · Graham · Ker · Vacant · Hay Secretary for Scotland 1885–1926 Gordon-Lennox · Trevelyan · Ramsay · Balfour · Kerr  · Trevelyan · Bruce · Murray · Hope · Sinclair · McKinnon-Wood · Tennant · Munro · Munro Ferguson · Adamson · Gilmour Secretary of State for Scotland 1926–1999 Gilmour · Adamson · Sinclair · Collins · Elliot · Colville · Brown · Johnston · Primrose · Westwood · Woodburn · McNeil · Stuart · Maclay · Noble · Ross · Campbell · Ross · Millan · Younger · Rifkind · Lang · Forsyth · Dewar Secretary of State for Scotland 1999–present Reid · Liddell · Darling* · Alexander* · Browne** · Murphy · Alexander · Moore Also Secretary of State for Transport; **Secretary of State for Defence

v t e Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom Minister of Overseas Development Castle · Greenwood · Bottomley · Prentice · Hart · Wood* · Hart* · Prentice* · Judd* · Hart* · Marten* · Raison* · Patten* · Chalker* Secretary of State for International Development Short · Amos · Benn · Alexander · Mitchell Served as Minister for Overseas Development as a Minister of State at the Foreign Office