Pauline Neville-Jones was educated at Leeds Girls’ High School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (Modern History). She was a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund in the USA from 1961 to 1963.
From 1963 – 1996 Pauline was a career Diplomat during which time she served in British Missions in Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington and Bonn. Between 1977 and 1982 she was seconded to the European Commission where she worked as Deputy and then Chef de Cabinet to the Budget and Financial Institutions Commissioner, Christopher Tugendhat.
From 1991 to 1994 she was Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. Between 1993 and 1994 she was Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. From 1994 until her retirement, she was Political Director in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in which capacity she led the British delegation to the Dayton negotiations on the Bosnia peace settlement.
From 1996 to 1998 she was Managing Director and Head of Global Business Strategy for NatWest Markets and Chairman of NatWest Markets France. She was Vice Chairman of Hawkpoint partners Ltd., then the corporate advisory arm of NatWest Bank plc from 1998 to 2000.
Pauline was a BBC Governor from January 1998 to 31 December 2004. She was Chairman of Qinetiq Group PLC from 2002-2005.
In January 2006, she was appointed by David Cameron to head the Conservative Party’s National and International Security Policy Group. On 2 July 2007, Pauline was appointed Shadow Security Minister and National Security Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition. She took the title of Baroness Neville-Jones of Hutton Roof in the County of Cumbria on entry into the House of Lords in October 2007.
Baroness Neville-Jones is an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and Doctor of London University, City University and the Open University. She was made a companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1987 and a Dame Commander in the 1996 New Year’s Honours. She is a Freeman of the City of London.
In May 2010, Pauline was appointed Minister for Security and stepped down from this role in May 2011.