Signatories

Nuclear weapons helped ensure peace and security during the Cold War. We live in a different world. We do not need 26,000 nuclear weapons, more countries are seeking nuclear arms, and the proliferation of fissile material expands every year. Multilateral nuclear weapons reductions and far superior verification controls would both provide tangible security gains, and help to make the elimination of nuclear weapons a genuine possibility. The Global Zero initiative is an essential part of making that process a reality.

Malcolm Rifkind is a former British Foreign Secretary, and a current Member of Parliament. He was a long-serving minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Mayor, working in a number of capacities. He was Secretary of State for Defence from 1992 to 1995 and was Foreign Secretary from 1995 to 1997. In 1997, he received knighthood, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.

He was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University where he studied law before taking a postgraduate degree in political science.