Charles Hendry was Conservative Member of Parliament for High Peak from 1992-97 and for Wealden from 2001-2015. He was Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change from May 2010 until September 2012. He was previously the Conservative Party’s spokesman on energy issues, from 2005-2010. 

On leaving Ministerial office, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed him as his Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, a role he continued until leaving Parliament in 2015.  He was awarded the CBE in Her Majesty The Queen’s 2019 Birthday Honours for his work in supporting British Trade in Central Asia, and as Commissioner for the UK Pavilion at Expo2017 in Astana.

On leaving Ministerial office, he was appointed as an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Business School.  He is President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan; President of the British Institute of Energy Economics; Vice-President of The Energy Institute and the Patron of the Nuclear Institute.

He works extensively across the international energy sector, primarily focussing on the transition to Net Zero and continues to undertake projects for Government.  He is a Non-Executive Director of Scottish Power’s Energy Networks business.

In 2019, as part of the Year of Music between Russia and the UK, he helped create the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra, highlighting the importance that culture plays in building friendship and trust.

Charles was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he received an Honours Degree in Business Studies.