Speakers

Biography
Lord Callanan was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union on 27 October 2017.
Education
He was educated at Newcastle Polytechnic where he gained a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in electrical and electronic engineering.
Political career
Callanan was a Conservative Councillor on Tyne and Wear County Council between 1983 and 1986 and Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council between 1987 and 1996.
He was a Member of the European Parliament for the North East England constituency from 1999, re-elected in 2004 and 2009.
He became the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists group from 2011-2014.
Callanan was created a Life Peer on 24 September 2014 taking the title Baron Callanan, of Low Fell in the County of Tyne and Wear.
He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport between June and October 2017.
Career outside politics
He worked as a project engineer at Scottish and Newcastle breweries from 1986 to 1998.