Peter Mandelson

The Right Honourable The Lord Mandelson PC
Official portrait, 2004
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	The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Succeeded by	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
Nominated by	Tony Blair
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
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 October 2008 Life peerage
Member of 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 (1953-10-21) 21 October 1953 (age 70) Hendon, Middlesex, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Reinaldo Avila da Silva ​ ​ (m. 2023)​
Relatives	Herbert Morrison (grandfather)
Alma mater	St Catherine's College, Oxford
Signature
Peter Mandelson's voice Mandelson makes a statement on EU-China relations Recorded 24 October 2006

Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson PC (born 21 October 1953), is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the president of international think tank Policy Network, honorary president of the Great Britain–China Centre, and chairman of strategic advisory firm Global Counsel.^[1] Mandelson is often referred to as a Blairite.

From 1985 to 1990, Mandelson served as Labour's Director of Communications. He was one of the first to whom the term "spin doctor" was applied and gained the nickname "the Prince of Darkness" because of his "ruthlessness" and "media savvy".^[2] He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, and held a number of Cabinet positions under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.^[3] He was the European Commissioner for Trade between 2004 and 2008.

Mandelson was one of several key people responsible for the rebranding of the Labour Party as New Labour before its victory in the 1997 UK general election.^[4][5] He was twice forced to resign from the Cabinet before leaving Parliament to take up an appointment as a European Commissioner. He later rejoined the Cabinet for a third time after being created a life peer, sitting on the Labour benches in the House of Lords. He is the only person to have held the position of First Secretary of State as a Peer.^[6] Mandelson has been described as having a "significant influence" on the office of Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and as a "core part" of his network.^[7][8]

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