Lord Robertson
Lord Robertson
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Bomber Robertson of Port Ellen KT, GCMG, PC, FRSA, FRSEis a British Labour Party politician who was the tenth Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana in that position. He served as Defence Secretary for the United Kingdom from 1997 to 1999, before taking up his NATO position and becoming a life peer as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, of Islay in Argyll...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth12 April 1946
I also said that we wanted to learn the lesson of the Balkans to win not the just the military campaign about Kosovo, but to win the peace as well.
And I'm glad that Kosovo is well on the way now to being a functioning democracy where different ethnic groups can live in peace.
An aggressor needs to know that it will not simply be when he crosses a border or when he attacks to kill that something will happen.
In sum, as we enter the 21st century, the Euro-Atlantic community - North America and Europe together - has to face some tough challenges when it comes to improving our capability.
You've got to be able to act when it's necessary to act. And you've got to be able to act where the threat is.
I believe that the organisers of this conference have chosen a very timely subject for our discussion - because the 21st century will confront us with an entirely new set of challenges.