The Rt Hon The Lord Patten of Barnes CH will join the Cadbury Schweppes Board as non-executive director, effective from 1 July 2005.
As Chris Patten, he was a Member of Parliament in the UK from 1979 to 1992, during which time he held offices as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office, Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science and Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Secretary of State for the Environment and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Appointed Governor of Hong Kong in 1992 he oversaw the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. He was Chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, set up under the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which reported in 1999. He held the position of European Commissioner for External Relations from 1999 until 2004.
Lord Patten (age 61) is Chancellor of Oxford University and Newcastle University, a member of the Privy Council and a Companion of Honour.
Commenting on the appointment chairman, John Sunderland, says, "I am delighted Lord Patten will be joining our board. He brings a great deal of experience and expertise, especially in the area of international relations, which is valuable to a company that has a presence in almost every country in the world. I am pleased to welcome him to Cadbury Schweppes."
Cadbury Schweppes board membership currently comprises;
John Sunderland - executive chairman
Roger Carr - deputy chairman and senior independent non-executive
Todd Stitzer - chief executive officer
Ken Hanna - chief financial officer
Bob Stack - chief human resources officer
Dr Wolfgang Berndt - independent non-executive
Rick Braddock - independent non-executive
David Thompson- independent non-executive
Rosemary Thorne - independent non-executive
Baroness Wilcox - independent non-executive
Mike Clark - group secretary and chief legal officer.