Peter Mandelson
The Lord Mandelson | |
|---|---|
Mandelson in 2025 | |
| British Ambassador to the United States | |
| Assumed office 10 February 2025 | |
| 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 |
| 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 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 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 Hendon, Middlesex, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
dom 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 | Prince of Darkness |
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025.
A member of the Labour Party, Mandelson served as Labour's director of communications from 1985 to 1990, becoming one of the first people to whom the term "spin doctor" was applied and being dubbed the "Prince of Darkness" because of his "ruthless" and "media savvy" reputation.
Mandelson served as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and again from 2008 to 2010, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1999 to 2001 as well as First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council from 2009 to 2010. He was the European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, before being elevated to the House of Lords as a Life Peer in 2008. In November 2010, he co-founded Global Counsel, a lobbying firm based in London.
Mandelson has been described as having a "significant influence" on the office of current Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a "core part" of his political network. In December 2024, Starmer nominated Mandelson as HM Ambassador to the United States.