Harriet Harman

The Right Honourable Harriet Harman KC MP
Official portrait, 2020
Leader of the Opposition
In office 8 May 2015 – 12 September 2015
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Shadow First Secretary	Hilary Benn (acting)
Preceded by	Ed Miliband
Succeeded by	Jeremy Corbyn
In office 11 May 2010 – 25 September 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Shadow Deputy PM	Jack Straw (acting)
Preceded by	David Cameron
Succeeded by	Ed Miliband
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Chair of the Labour Party
In office 24 June 2007 – 12 September 2015
Leader	Gordon Brown Ed Miliband
Preceded by	John Prescott (Deputy Leader) Hazel Blears (Party Chair)
Succeeded by	Tom Watson
Ministerial Offices 1997–2010 Leader of the House of Commons Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by Jack Straw Succeeded by George Young Minister for Women and Equality[a] In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by Ruth Kelly Succeeded by Theresa May In office 3 May 1997 – 27 July 1998 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Office established Succeeded by The Baroness Jay of Paddington Minister of State for Justice[b] In office 10 May 2005 – 28 June 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Michael Wills Solicitor General for England and Wales In office 11 June 2001 – 10 May 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Ross Cranston Succeeded by Mike O'Brien Secretary of State for Social Security In office 3 May 1997 – 27 July 1998 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Peter Lilley Succeeded by Alistair Darling
Further offices held Shadow Cabinet portfolios 2010-2015 Deputy Prime Minister 2011–2015 Culture, Media and Sport 2010–2011 International Development 1996–1997 Social Security 1995–1996 Health 1994–1995 Employment 1992-1994 Chief Secretary to the Treasury Committee Chairmanships 2022-present Commons Privileges 2023-present Commons Standards 2015-2024[c] Joint Committee on Human Rights
Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham Peckham (1982–1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 October 1982
Preceded by	Harry Lamborn
Majority	33,780 (59.8%)
Personal details
Born	Harriet Ruth Harman (1950-07-30) 30 July 1950 (age 73) Marylebone, London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Jack Dromey ​ ​ (m. 1982; died 2022)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	John B. Harman Anna Spicer
Relatives	See list Joseph Chamberlain (great-granduncle) Richard Chamberlain (great-granduncle) Beatrice Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed) Austen Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed) Neville Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed) Ida Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed) Hilda Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)
Residence(s)	Herne Hill, London, England Suffolk, England
Alma mater	Goodricke College, York
Signature
Website	Official website

Harriet Ruth Harman KC (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet positions.

Born in London to a doctor and a barrister, Harman was privately educated at St Paul's Girls' School before going on to study politics at the University of York. After working for Brent Law Centre, she became a legal officer for the National Council for Civil Liberties, a role in which she was found in contempt of court following action pursued by Michael Havers, a former Attorney General. She successfully took a case, Harman v United Kingdom, to the European Court of Human Rights, which found Havers had breached her right to freedom of expression.

Harman was elected as MP for Peckham at a 1982 by-election. She was made a shadow social services minister in 1984 and a shadow health minister in 1987. Under John Smith, she served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and, under Tony Blair, as Shadow Employment Secretary, Shadow Health Secretary and Shadow Social Security Secretary respectively. Following the 1997 general election victory, she was appointed Secretary of State for Social Security and the first ever Minister for Women, serving until 1998 when she left the Cabinet. In 2001, she was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, serving until 2005 when she became Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs. She ran in the 2007 deputy leadership election and defeated five other candidates, ultimately defeating Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, by a narrow margin. Gordon Brown, who was elected as party leader, appointed her Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal, Minister for Women and Equality and Chairman of the Labour Party.

Upon defeat at the 2010 general election, Brown resigned as party leader and Harman, as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, became Acting Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition until Ed Miliband was elected leader. She subsequently served as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, combining the position with that of Shadow International Development Secretary from 2010 to 2011 and then Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, Harman expressed regret after it was revealed that the Paedophile Information Exchange had affiliated status within the NCCL while she had been legal officer. Following Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election, Miliband resigned as Leader of the Labour Party and Harman once again became Acting Leader and Leader of the Opposition. She announced that she would also resign as Deputy Leader, prompting a concurrent deputy leadership election. She remains in the House of Commons as a backbencher.

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