Liam Fox: The Abraham Accords and 30 Years in Parliament

Illustrated by Jeannette Khouri
Illustrated by Jeannette Khouri

Liam Fox: The Abraham Accords and 30 Years in Parliament

This May, North Somerset Member of Parliament Liam Fox marked 30 years in Parliament.

Fox entered the British House of Commons in 1992 and has served in a wide range of positions in both government and the opposition. He was a member of Prime Minister John Major's cabinet, and served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and then as a Minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

"I feel very privileged and honored to be the Member of Parliament for North Somerset and it is the greatest privilege to represent my constituents," he said during a ceremony marking the anniversary.

Alongside the opposition, Liam Fox has held a number of roles including Conservative Party Chair, Shadow Health Secretary, Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Defense Secretary, and Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs.

He was appointed Secretary of State for Defence under Prime Minister David Cameron in May 2010, to oversee a major reorganization of the Ministry of Defense and Britain's participation in the campaigns in Afghanistan and Libya.

He was also Government Whip and Foreign & Commonwealth Minister in John Major’s Government and Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade in Theresa May’s administration.

Under Prime Minister Johnson, Fox was nominated as the UK government’s official candidate to be director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2020.

He is currently the 14th most senior MP in the House of Commons out of 650 MPs.

In July 2018, after serving his term as Defense Minister, he established the "Give Us Time" military charity, which provides family leave for those who serve in the armed forces, especially those who watched combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In July last year, the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel to the United Kingdom appointed Liam Fox as President of the Abrahamic Accords Group in the UK, which aspires to create a platform in the UK to support the Abrahamic Accords and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

The UK Abraham Accords Group, chaired by the Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP, made its first visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain to meet with government officials from 4 – 7 April 2022, following its successful delegation visit to the UAE in January.

Dr Fox was joined by Lord John Walney, who formerly served as a Labour MP on the Parliamentary Labour Party’s Defense and Foreign Affairs committees, and as a member of the House of Commons Defense Committee.

Commenting on the visit, Dr Fox said: “The Abraham Accords were a bold and visionary step towards peace in the Middle East. Our group is here to express support for the Accords, as well as to see for ourselves the spirit of coexistence that is being fostered in Bahrain between religions, cultures, and nations. I also hope that the UK can play an important role in expanding the Accords and that our group can contribute to this aim. I look forward to discussing this matter further with Bahraini officials during our visit.”

Fox was also a staunch advocate of free trade and an advocate of the rules-based global trading system based on the World Trade Organization. Among his most famous quotes: "I believe that if we want to keep the WTO relevant and vibrant, we must ensure that trade works for everyone."

He is one of the personalities defending the "SheTrades" initiative of the International Trade Center. He believes that increasing women's access to trade is both economic empowerment and social progress, and believes that there must be much better coordination between trade and development policy if both the full potential is to be achieved.

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