David Miliband

(1965-)

David Wright Miliband (born July 15, 1965) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, the Shadow Foreign Secretary since 2010, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is of Polish Jewish descent and son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband. He and his younger brother, Ed Miliband, were the first siblings to sit in the Cabinet simultaneously since Lord Edward Stanley, and Oliver Stanley in 1938. He is currently standing in the leadership election to determine the next Leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Gordon Brown.

Born in London, Miliband studied at Oxford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and started his career at the Institute for Public Policy Research. At 29, Miliband became Tony Blair's Head of Policy whilst the Labour Party was then in opposition and was a major contributor to Labour's manifesto for the 1997 general election which brought the party to power. Blair made him head of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit from 1997 to 2001, following which Miliband was elected to parliament for the North East England seat of South Shields.

Miliband spent the next several years in various junior ministerial posts in the British Government, including at the Department for Education and Skills, before becoming Environment Secretary. His tenure in this post saw climate change consolidated as a priority for UK policymakers. On the succession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, Miliband was promoted to Foreign Secretary, at 41, the youngest person to hold the position in 30 years.

On May 12, 2010, Miliband announced he would stand for the leadership election of the Labour Party. The other contenders for the leadership are Ed Balls, Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott, and David’s brother Ed Miliband. The result of the contest will be announced on September 25, 2010, the day before the start of the 2010 Labour Party Conference in Manchester.

Miliband is married to American-born Louise Shackelton, a professional violinist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Shackelton and Miliband have adopted two sons from the United States, named Isaac and Jacob, the first in December 2004 and the second in October 2007.

Source: Wikipedia

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