Former Foreign Secretary joins F&C as a part-time director

Foreign & Colonial, the fund management group, has signed up its second former Conservative Cabinet minister as a non-executive director.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the ex-Foreign Secretary, has been appointed a part- time director of Foreign & Colonial's Emerging Markets Investment Trust. The move follows the appointment last year of Kenneth Clarke, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, as non-executive director of F&C's flagship investment vehicle, the Investment Trust.

A spokeswoman for F&C declined to give Sir Malcolm's salary for the part- time post, which began on 1 January. However, Mr Clarke is being paid pounds 18,000 for his job, which involves attending a board meeting for one day a month.

It is the third non-executive directorship Sir Malcolm has secured since losing his seat as MP for Edinburgh Pentlands to Labour at the last election. Last summer he was appointed as non-executive director of Ramco Energy, the AIM-listed independent oil company based in Aberdeen. He is also non- executive international director of BHP Petroleum, the Australian oil company.

George Nissen, chairman of F&C's Emerging Markets IT, said he was "delighted" at the move. "His breadth of knowledge will make a valuable contribution to the company."

Sir Malcolm is also the third senior Tory figure to sign up a non-executive directorship with an F&C trust. Apart from Mr Clarke, F&C has appointed Baroness Hogg, former adviser to John Major, as chairman of its Smaller Companies Investment Trust.

Of the former Cabinet ministers, Mr Clarke has been most successful in the hunt for outside jobs. On top of his pounds 43,000 MP's salary, he has secured a pounds 120,000 a year non-executive chairmanship of Unichem, along with jobs with BAT and F&C.

- Chris Godsmark