"Mandelson" redirects here. For the surname, see Mandelson (surname).
The Right Honourable
The Lord Mandelson
PC
Official portrait, c. 2008–2009
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 MandelsonPC (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]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Peter Mandelson". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
^Swaine, Jon (3 October 2008). "Peter Mandelson profile: The Prince of Darkness returns". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^"Lord Mandelson". UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
^"Profile: Peter Mandelson". BBC News. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
^Freedland, Jonathan (29 April 2017). "'What do we do now?': the New Labour landslide, 20 years on". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
^"Baron Mandelson joins the Lords". BBC News. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
^Savage, Michael (26 September 2021). "Old faces of New Labour in Keir Starmer's inner circle". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
^Mason, Rowena; Crerar, Pippa (7 October 2023). "Who's who in Keir Starmer's reshaped top team?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson PC (born 21 October 1953), is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from...
Anthony Crosland and the leadership of Blair and Brown as well as PeterMandelson and Alastair Campbell's media campaigning. The political philosophy...
political comedian and broadcaster Matt Chorley, with analysis from PeterMandelson of the Labour Party, Daniel Finkelstein of the Conservative Party,...
October 2008). "PeterMandelson dogged by his links to Russian oligarch". The Times. UK. Retrieved 23 October 2008. "Tories seek Mandelson 'clarity'". BBC...
have been at "loggerheads" with PeterMandelson as to who was in charge with the project. 23 December 1998: PeterMandelson resigns from government after...
relationship with Unionists was the key reason Mowlam was replaced by PeterMandelson as Northern Ireland Secretary in October 1999, her move to the relatively...
becomes Welsh Secretary. Ron Davies leaves the Cabinet. December 1998 – PeterMandelson is dismissed from the cabinet over a secret home loan he received from...
became a Member of the Privy Council. After the sudden resignation of PeterMandelson, Byers was appointed as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in...
deputy to Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills PeterMandelson. He was Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs...
this point, as media centric figures such as Alastair Campbell and PeterMandelson provided a clear cut campaign, and establishing a relatively new political...
socialists, and that it had previously investigated Labour Party ministers PeterMandelson, Jack Straw and Harriet Harman. Kane was born in Middlesbrough, England...
House. On 3 October 2008, Ashton was nominated by the UK to replace PeterMandelson as the European Commissioner for Trade. Because European Commissioners...
who attended the school in 1950–51, became its president, succeeding PeterMandelson. He was to receive an honorary fellowship in December 2008, but had...
adverse impact on recruitment. On 9 November 2009 Business Secretary PeterMandelson announced a further review into fees and university funding in England...
characters played by Rhys have included Vlad Tepes, Ludwig van Beethoven, PeterMandelson, Paul McCartney, Thomas De Quincey, A. E. Housman, Frédéric Chopin...
An Election from The Times, presented by Matt Chorley and alongside PeterMandelson and Danny Finkelstein. Mackenzie married the journalist and novelist...
Hindujas." In January 2001, it was revealed that UK government Minister PeterMandelson had telephoned Home Office minister Mike O'Brien on behalf of Srichand...
party under the direction of Kinnock's director of communications PeterMandelson, as well as seizing the Fulham seat in West London from the Conservatives...
Industry); the first woman to have held the post. She was succeeded by PeterMandelson in July 1998.[citation needed] Beckett was then Leader of the House...
of Thrones (2014–2017), Stephen Gardiner in Wolf Hall (2015), and PeterMandelson in Coalition (2015). He has acted in films such as Victor Frankenstein...
Smithfield were penned overnight. The pub had been a favourite of PeterMandelson in his youth. There is a small collection of 18th-century houses along...
firm at £9.8 billion on 9 November 2009. The UK Business Secretary PeterMandelson warned Kraft not to try to "make a quick buck" from the acquisition...
correspondent and deputy to political editor Gary Gibbon. She asked PeterMandelson at the Brighton Labour Party conference in 2009, whether he had used...