Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician for the Labour Party. He helped to found the so-called 'New Labour' with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992-2004.
The Lord Mandelson | |||||||||
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 Mandelson in 2025 | |||||||||
| British Ambassador to the United States | |||||||||
| Assumed office 10 February 2025[1] | |||||||||
| Monarch | Charles III | ||||||||
| President | Donald Trump | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | Sir Keir Starmer | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Dame Karen Pierce | ||||||||
| First Secretary of State | |||||||||
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||
| Preceded by | John Prescott[a] | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | William Hague | ||||||||
| Lord President of the Council | |||||||||
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Baroness Royall of Blaisdon | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sir Nick Clegg | ||||||||
| Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills[b] President of the Board of Trade | |||||||||
| In office 3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||
| Preceded by | John Hutton | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Vince Cable | ||||||||
| In office 27 July 1998 – 23 December 1998 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Margaret Beckett | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Stephen Byers | ||||||||
| European Commissioner for Trade | |||||||||
| In office 22 November 2004 – 3 October 2008 | |||||||||
| President | José Manuel Barroso | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Pascal Lamy | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Catherine Ashton | ||||||||
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |||||||||
| In office 11 October 1999 – 24 January 2001 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Mo Mowlam | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Reid | ||||||||
| Minister without Portfolio | |||||||||
| In office 2 May 1997 – 27 July 1998 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Brian Mawhinney | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Charles Clarke | ||||||||
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |||||||||
| Assumed office 13 October 2008 Life Peer | |||||||||
| Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Hartlepool | |||||||||
| In office 9 April 1992 – 8 September 2004 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Ted Leadbitter | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Iain Wright | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Peter Benjamin Mandelson 21 October 1953 (aged 72) Hendon, Middlesex, England | ||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Reinaldo Avila da Silva
(m. 2023) | ||||||||
| Relatives | Lord Morrison of Lambeth (grandfather) | ||||||||
| Education | Hendon County Grammar School | ||||||||
| Alma mater | St Catherine's College, Oxford | ||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Prince of Darkness[2] | ||||||||
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Lord Mandelson lost his job twice, once in 1998 for not declaring a loan he was given to buy a house, and once in 2001 for trying to arrange a passport for an Indian businessman who had given £1,000,000 to the Labour Party. He later made a speech claiming to have "inner steel".
After Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, he made Mandelson a Life Peer, and some newspapers have called him "the most powerful man in the Labour Party".
In 2025, he became the British Ambassador to the United States.
Mandelson is gay (he was outed in 1998 by openly gay journalist Matthew Parris),[3] which led some to claim the UK was being run by a gay mafia.
Peter Mandelson Media
Mandelson and US President George W. Bush in February 2005
Mandelson (left) with Gordon Brown at the Progressive Governance Conference, February 2010.
European Commissioner Mandelson in 2007
Mandelson and US President Donald Trump in June 2025
Coronet of a British Baron
Grande ufficiale OSSI medal BAR
Legion Honneur Officier ribbon
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Notes
References
- ↑ "UK must respect Trump's mandate, new US ambassador tells BBC". BBC News. 10 February 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8j5n3z7epo. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ Lord Mandelson: 'Dark lord' of New Labour strikes back as UK ambassador to US. 20 December 2024. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/peter-mandelson-lord-new-labour-tony-blair-washington-b2668106.html. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ↑ BBC to replay clip of Mandelson being outed