Peter Benjamin Mandelson
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Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (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 The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centu ...
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 The Great Britain–China Centre (GBCC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. It was set up by the British government in 1974 to foster understanding and cooperation between the United Kingdom and the P ...
, and chairman of strategic advisory firm Global Counsel. 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 In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...
" was applied and gained the nickname "the Prince of Darkness" because of his "ruthlessness" and "media savvy". He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for
Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
from
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
to
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and held a number of
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
positions under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. 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 election. 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 In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
, 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.


Early life


Family

Peter Mandelson was born in
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
, Middlesex, on 21 October 1953, the son of Mary Joyce (''
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Morrison) and George Norman Mandelson. His father's family were Jewish; his grandfather had founded the Harrow United Synagogue. His father (known as Tony) was the advertising manager of '' The Jewish Chronicle'' who was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Dragoons in the Second World War. On his mother's side, Mandelson is a grandson of Herbert Morrison,"An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain by John O'Farrell" the London County Council Leader and Labour Cabinet Minister in the
Attlee ministry Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 gene ...
. Mandelson was raised in Hampstead Garden Suburb. He says of his childhood – "my whole upbringing was framed around the Suburb – my friendships and values".


Education

Mandelson attended Garden Suburb School, and between 1965 and 1972, Hendon County Grammar School. In 1966 he appeared on stage with the local amateur theatre group, the Hampstead Garden Suburb Dramatic Society, as the eponymous lead in '' The Winslow Boy''. From 1973 to 1976 he read philosophy, politics and economics at St Catherine's College, Oxford. During his teenage years he was a member of the Young Communist League, but later became a member of the Oxford University Labour Club.


Early career

In the late 1970s he became Chairman of the British Youth Council. As Chair of the BYC, he was a delegate in 1978 to the Soviet-organised
World Festival of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...
in Havana, Cuba. There, with several future Labour Cabinet colleagues, he – together with future IUSY President Hilary Barnard, Charles Clarke, Richard Corbett and Trevor Phillips – successfully frustrated agreement on a distorted Soviet text on youth in the capitalist countries. He was elected to Lambeth Borough Council in 1979 but stood down in 1982, disillusioned with the state of Labour politics. Mandelson then worked for some time as a television producer at London Weekend Television on '' Weekend World'', where he formed a friendship with his superior John (''now'' Lord) Birt.


Political career


Labour's Director of Communications

In 1985, the Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock appointed him as the party's Director of Communications. As Director, he was one of the first people in Britain to whom the term "
spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...
" was applied; he was thus called "the Prince of Darkness". In 1986 Mandelson ran the campaign at the Fulham by-election in which Labour defeated the Conservative Party. For the 1987 election campaign, Mandelson commissioned film director Hugh Hudson, whose '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) had won an Oscar as Best Picture, to make a party political broadcast promoting Neil Kinnock as a potential prime minister. Tagged "Kinnock – the Movie", it led to the party leader's approval rating being raised by 16%Steven Fieldin
"Labour Party Election Broadcast (21 May 1987)"
BFI screenonline
or 19% in pollsTim Walke

The Telegraph, 14 July 2012
and was even repeated in another PPB slot. The election, held on 11 June 1987, returned Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives for the third time, although Labour gained 20 seats, and, this time, convincingly pushed the SDP-Liberal Alliance into third place. Opponents termed the Labour Party's election campaign "a brilliantly successful election defeat". He ceased being a Labour Party official in 1990 when he was selected as Labour candidate for the
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of
Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
, which was then considered a
safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...
.
Malcolm Tucker Malcolm Tucker is the fictional antihero of the BBC political satire ''The Thick of It'', portrayed by Peter Capaldi. He is the Director of Communications for his party in both Government and Opposition, acting as the Prime Minister's chief en ...
, the fictional character from
Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...
's '' The Thick of It'', is based, in part, on Mandelson.


As an MP

Mandelson was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1992 general election, and made several speeches outlining his strong support for the European Union. Although sidelined during the brief period when John Smith led the party, Mandelson was by now close to two Shadow Cabinet members – Gordon Brown and Tony Blair – each regarded as potential future leaders of the party. Following Smith's sudden death on 12 May 1994, Mandelson chose to back Blair for the leadership, believing him to be a superior communicator to Brown and played a leading role in the leadership campaign. This created antagonism between Mandelson and Brown, though they were considered allies in the Labour Party. In 1994
Kate Garvey Kate Garvey (born ) is an English public relations executive and a former aide to British prime minister Tony Blair. She is a co-founder of Project Everyone, a communications and campaigning agency promoting the United Nations' Sustainable Deve ...
suggested that Mandelson (who was at the time being derided by the trade unions and other Labour factions), should adopt a "
nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
" throughout Blair's leadership bid, so that he might conceal his considerable role within the campaign team. Mandelson agreed to be called "Bobby" for the duration and was thanked by Blair using this name in his victory speech. After becoming a close ally and trusted adviser to Tony Blair, Mandelson was Labour's election campaign director for the 1997 general election, which Labour won decisively.


Minister without Portfolio

He was appointed as a
Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
in the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
, where his job was to co-ordinate within government. A few months later, he also acquired responsibility for the
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millenn ...
, after Blair decided to go ahead with the project despite the opposition of most of the cabinet (including the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who had been running it).
Jennie Page Jennifer Anne "Jennie" Page, (born 12 November 1944) was chief executive of the London Millennium Dome project from 1 March 1995 until she resigned after a flawed opening night and poor early attendance at the start of 2000. Education Page atten ...
, the Dome project's chief executive, was abruptly sacked after a farcical opening night. She gave evidence to a House of Commons Select Committee for Culture and Heritage in June 2000. In what was seen as a reference to the close interest in the Dome from Mandelson, known at the time as so-called "Dome Secretary" and his successor
Lord Falconer of Thoroton Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007. Born in ...
, Page told the committee: "I made several attempts to persuade ministers that standing back from the Dome would be good for them as well as good for the Dome". In July 1998 he was appointed to the Cabinet as
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...
; he launched the Millennium Bug And Electronic Commerce Bill and a Competitiveness White Paper, which he described, as 'bold, far reaching and absolutely necessary'. He also appointed a " Net Tsar" to lead the UK in what he termed the "new industrial revolution". In 1998 he was appointed a Privy Counsellor. Mandelson bought a home in Notting Hill in 1996 partly with an interest-free loan of £373,000 from
Geoffrey Robinson Geoffrey Robinson (born 25 May 1938) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North West for 43 years, from 1976 to 2019. He was Paymaster General from May 1997 to December 1998, resigning after ...
, a cabinet colleague and millionaire whose business dealings were subject to an inquiry by Mandelson's department. Mandelson contended that he had deliberately not taken part in any decisions relating to Robinson. However, he had not declared the loan in the
Register of Members' Interests The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner is i ...
and resigned in December 1998. Mandelson had also not declared the loan to his building society (the Britannia) although they decided not to take any action, with the CEO stating "I am satisfied that the information given to us at the time of the mortgage application was accurate." Mandelson initially thought he could weather the press storm, but had to resign when it became clear that the Prime Minister thought nothing else would clear the air. In October 2000 it was reported that Robinson had "accused Peter Mandelson of lying to the Commons about the home loan affair that cost both of them their government jobs."


Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

He was out of the Cabinet for ten months. In October 1999 he was appointed
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
, replacing Mo Mowlam. In his very first speech in the post he mistakenly referred to himself as the "Secretary of State for Ireland." During his tenure he oversaw the creation of the devolved legislative assembly and power-sharing executive and reform of the
police service The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
. On 24 January 2001, Mandelson resigned from the Government for a second time, following accusations of using his position to influence a passport application. He had contacted Home Office Minister Mike O'Brien on behalf of Srichand Hinduja, an Indian businessman who was seeking British citizenship and whose family firm was to become the main sponsor of the "Faith Zone" in the
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millenn ...
. At the time Hinduja and his brothers were under investigation by the Indian government for alleged involvement in the Bofors scandal. Mandelson insisted he had done nothing wrong and was exonerated by an independent inquiry by Sir
Anthony Hammond Anthony Hammond (1668–1738), of Somersham Place, Huntingdonshire and Lidlington, Bedfordshire, was an English official and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1708. He was also known as a poet a ...
, which concluded that neither Mandelson nor anyone else had acted improperly. At the 2001 general election Mandelson was challenged by Arthur Scargill of the Socialist Labour Party and by John Booth, a former Labour Party press officer standing as "Genuine Labour", but Mandelson was re-elected with a large majority. In his victory speech, Mandelson said: "It was said that I was facing political oblivion ... Well, they underestimated Hartlepool and they underestimated me because I am a fighter and not a quitter."


Stepping down as MP

Despite Labour success in the June 2001 general election, a third Cabinet appointment did not materialise and he indicated his interest in becoming the United Kingdom's
European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
when the new Commission was established in 2004. Both of Britain's Commissioners, Neil Kinnock and
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...
, were due to stand down. Appointment as a European Commissioner would require his resignation from Parliament precipitating a by-election in his Hartlepool constituency. His appointment was announced in the summer and on 8 September 2004 Mandelson resigned his seat by submitting his name as Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Labour won the subsequent Hartlepool by-election with a much-reduced majority of 2,033 votes (equating to 40.7% of the vote). He was succeeded as MP for Hartlepool by
Iain Wright Iain David Wright (born 9 May 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 2004 to 2017, and served also as the Chairman of Business Innovation and Skills Committee. He was previously Par ...
.


European Commissioner

On 22 November 2004 Mandelson became Britain's European Commissioner, taking the trade portfolio. In October 2008 he left his post as Trade Commissioner to return to UK politics. As a former EU Commissioner, Mandelson was entitled to a £31,000 pension upon reaching the age of 65 years. It was claimed by Christopher Hope of '' The Daily Telegraph'' in 2009 that Mandelson's pension was contingent on a "duty of loyalty to the Communities", which also applied after his term in office. The Taxpayers' Alliance, which was reported to have uncovered the threat to his pension, demanded that he should declare the conflict of interest and either relinquish his EU pay cheques or resign as a
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. "When one considers that his new ministerial post deals specifically with business, enterprise and regulatory reform – all areas that are intimately involved with EU legislation, regulation and policy –" the group said, "the conflict of interest is even more stark." Mandelson did not agree that he had a conflict of interests. "He has always had a clear view of British interests and how they are secured by our EU membership," a spokesperson said. The website
Full Fact Full Fact is a British charity, based in London, which checks and corrects facts reported in the news as well as claims which circulate on social media. History and structure Full Fact was founded in 2009 by businessman Michael Samuel, the c ...
reported in 2019 that the claim was untrue, stating that while there are rules governing the conduct of current and former EU staff members, which can lead to pensions sanctions, the European Commission had informed them that it would be "probably impossible" for such people to lose their pension for criticising the EU or supporting Brexit. Full Fact also pointed out that there had been multiple cases of both current and ex-commissioners criticising the EU – in April 2019, German former Commissioner Günter Verheugen criticised the EU's Brexit negotiating position, saying "the problem is on the EU side", while in 2017 British former Commissioner Lord Hill had supported "getting on" with Brexit.


Peerage and return to Cabinet

On 3 October 2008, as part of Gordon Brown's Cabinet reshuffle, it was announced amid some controversy that Mandelson would return to Government in the re-designated post of
Business Secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...
and would be raised to the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...
, thus becoming a
member of the House of Lords This is a list of members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual 26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops of Canterbury and ...
. On 13 October 2008 he was created Baron Mandelson, of Foy in the County of Herefordshire and of
Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
in the County of Durham, and was introduced in the House of Lords the same day. Following his return to office, Mandelson supported the planned Heathrow expansion. On 6 March 2009, environmental protester Leila Deen of anti-aviation group Plane Stupid approached him outside a summit on the government's low carbon industrial strategy and threw a cup of green custard in his face in protest over his support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The protester was cautioned on 9 April for causing "harassment, alarm or distress". In a Cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009 Mandelson was granted the honorific title of First Secretary of State and appointed
Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...
; it was also announced that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills would be merged into his, giving him the new title of Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and that he would continue as
President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centu ...
. Mandelson was a member of 35 of the 43 Cabinet committees and subcommittees. In August 2009 Mandelson was widely reported to have ordered "technical measures" such as internet disconnection to be included in the draft of the Digital Economy Act 2010 after a "big lobbying operation", even though the
Digital Britain The Digital Britain report was a policy document published in 2009, which outlined the United Kingdom Government's strategic vision for ensuring that the country is at the leading edge of the global digital economy. The Digital Economy Act 2010 was ...
report had rejected this type of punishment. '' The Independent'' reported that according to their Whitehall sources, Mandelson was persuaded that tough laws were needed to reduce online copyright infringement following an intensive lobbying campaign by influential people in the music and film industry. The paper also reported that this included a meeting with
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
co-founder
David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...
at the
Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...
villa on the Greek island of Corfu. Mandelson's spokesperson claimed that there had been no discussion of internet piracy during the Corfu dinner and suggested that the decision to reverse Lord Carter's findings had been taken in late July before the trip. '' The Times'' reported after the Corfu meeting that an unnamed Whitehall source had confirmed that before this trip, Mandelson had shown little personal interest in the Digital Britain agenda, which has been ongoing for several years. According to the source of ''The Times'', Mandelson returned from holiday and effectively issued an edict that the regulation needed to be tougher. In August 2011 a Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed that Mandelson had decided to approve the inclusion of technical measures, such as the disconnection of internet access, at least two months before public consultation had finished and that he had shown little interest in the consultation. Letters from Mandelson's office document talks with Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group, on 2 June 2009 and that on the following day Mandelson advised Lord Carter about the "possibility of he Secretary of Statehaving a power to direct Ofcom to go directly to introduce technical measures". Mandelson made the formal announcement that technical measures, including disconnection, were to be included in the Digital Economy Bill two months later on 7 August 2009. An opinion poll conducted by the centre-left think tank Compass found in March 2009 that Mandelson was less disliked by party members than Deputy Leader Harriet Harman. This was felt to be unusual as Mandelson "historically has been unpopular among Labour members". Tony Blair's assertion in 1996 that "my project will be complete when the Labour Party learns to love Peter Mandelson" was seen as prophetic in late September 2009 when Mandelson was enthusiastically received at the party conference in Brighton.


Post-Cabinet career

After the Labour Party lost the 2010 general election, Mandelson's memoirs, '' The Third Man: Life at the Heart of New Labour'', were published in July 2010, two months after leaving office. The memoirs were subsequently criticised by Labour leadership contenders Ed and
David Miliband David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of P ...
and
Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
. During this time he was appointed President of the international think tank Policy Network. In November 2010, Mandelson and
Benjamin Wegg-Prosser Benjamin Charles Wegg-Prosser (born June 1974) is managing partner of Global Counsel, a London-based strategic consultancy and lobbying organisation which has as its chair Peter Mandelson. Wegg-Prosser was Tony Blair's Director of Strategic Commu ...
founded
Global Counsel Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), 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 ...
, a consultancy firm based in London, with the financial support of WPP, the advertising giant. The firm provides advice for corporate strategists and senior management worldwide. Mandelson has been criticised for so far not disclosing his clients. In 1999, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Mandelson was an invited guest of the Bilderberg Group and attended the annual conferences. In January 2011, it was announced that Mandelson would serve as a senior adviser to the advisory investment banking firm, Lazard. In 2013, he also joined the Board of Trustees of Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft. In May 2011 it was revealed that there was speculation that Mandelson had been approached by
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to be a candidate for the leadership of the International Monetary Fund, even though Mandelson had not been a finance minister or headed a central bank. However, it was then speculated that Mandelson would stand to succeed Pascal Lamy as Director-General of the World Trade Organization, backed by
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
. In May 2012, Mandelson confirmed that he was advising
Asia Pulp & Paper Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is an Indonesian pulp and paper company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. One of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world, it was founded as Tjiwi Kimia by Eka Tjipta Widjaja in 1972. Asia Pulp & Paper is a subsidiar ...
(APP) in selling timber products to Europe. In 2012 APP was accused of illegal logging in Indonesia and damaging the habitats of rare animals such as the
Sumatran tiger The Sumatran tiger is a population of ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. Sequences from complete mitochon ...
. At least 67 companies worldwide, such as Tesco and Kraft Foods since 2004 and Danone since 2012 have boycotted APP. In 2013, Mandelson was appointed to the revived post of High Steward of Hull, a ceremonial position held by his grandfather Herbert Morrison in 1956–65 and defunct since 1974.


Labour leadership of Jeremy Corbyn

After the 2015 Labour leadership election resulted in Jeremy Corbyn becoming the
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
, Mandelson stated that he believed that Labour was now unelectable, but advised party members unhappy with the situation to wait for Corbyn to demonstrate this before working to replace him. He wished for an early general election to force Corbyn out. In February 2017, he said Corbyn had "no idea in the 21st century how to conduct himself as a leader of a party putting itself forward in a democratic election" and "I work every single day to bring forward the end of orbyn'stenure in office". After the results of the
2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November  ...
became known, Mandelson conceded that Corbyn's election campaign was "very sure footed" and the result, in which Labour gained seats and denied the Conservatives a majority, unexpected. "I was wrong" about Corbyn, he told BBC News. "I am very surprised, an earthquake has happened in British politics and I did not foresee it", although he doubted Corbyn's ability to gain a Commons majority. Two years later, in the 2019 general election, Labour suffered their worst defeat since the 1930s. Mandelson described the result as "not undeserved", arguing that Corbyn's leadership was one of the main reasons for Labour's defeat.


Remain campaign

During the
2016 EU referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
, Mandelson sat on the board on Britain Stronger in Europe, the official "Remain" campaign. The campaign was unsuccessful. Following the referendum, Mandelson was an outspoken supporter of a second referendum.


WTO lobbying

After
Roberto Azevêdo Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (; born 3 October 1957) is a Brazilian career diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2013 until 2020. Since 2020, he has been Executive Vice President and Director of Corpo ...
announced he would step down as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in September 2020, Mandelson declared his interest in running to succeed him. He proceeded to lobby governments around the world for the job, arguing that the WTO had "reached a fork in the road" and had to be "picked up and put back on its feet". Mandelson was overlooked in favour of the Conservative Liam Fox due to his opposition to Brexit. His candidacy ended when Fox beat him to win the nomination of the UK government.


Labour leadership of Keir Starmer

In 2021 it was reported that Mandelson had been advising Labour leader Keir Starmer on moving the party beyond Corbyn's leadership and broadening its electoral appeal.


Controversies

During the
2009 expenses scandal The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous year ...
'' The Daily Telegraph'' raised questions about the timing of Mandelson's second home allowance claim, dating from 2004, saying, "Lord Mandelson billed the taxpayer for almost £3,000 of work on his constituency home in Hartlepool less than a week after announcing his decision to stand down as an MP." Mandelson said in a statement, "The work done was necessary maintenance. All claims made were reasonable and submitted consistent with parliamentary rules." On 22 April 2005 '' The Times'' revealed that Mandelson had spent the previous New Year's Eve on the yacht of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, which was at the centre of a major EU investigation and although it did not allege impropriety, it did state that Mandelson's visit was inappropriate for a serving European Commissioner. During the summer of 2008 Mandelson had a widely publicised disagreement with
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, President of France. Sarkozy accused him of trying to sell out European farmers and appeared to blame his handling of the Doha round of trade talks for the "no" vote in the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. Mandelson said his position at world trade talks had been undermined and told the BBC he did not start the row, saying, "I stood up for myself, I'm not to be bullied." He said he believed the row was over but renewed his warnings on protectionism. In 2008 Mandelson was hospitalised, suffering from a kidney stone. At this time, melamine added to milk in China had caused kidney stones and other ailments in thousands of Chinese children, killing at least six. Ironically, during the previous week Mandelson had drunk a glass of Chinese yoghurt in front of reporters in order to show his confidence in Chinese dairy products, although his own kidney stones were unrelated. In October 2008 Mandelson was reported to have maintained private contacts over several years with Russian oligarch
Oleg Deripaska Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (russian: Олег Владимирович Дерипаска; born 2 January 1968) is a Russian billionaire and an industrialist. Deripaska enriched himself on previously state-owned assets that were privatized in ...
, most recently on holiday in August 2008 on Deripaska's yacht at Taverna Agni on the Greek island of
Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
. News of the contacts sparked criticism because, as European Union Trade Commissioner, Mandelson had been responsible for two decisions to cut aluminium tariffs that had benefited Deripaska's United Company Rusal. Mandelson denied that there had been a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
and insisted that he had never discussed aluminium tariffs with Deripaska. On 26 October 2008 the Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague claimed the "whole country" wanted "transparency" about Mandelson's previous meetings with Deripaska. In response, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Mandelson's dealings with Deripaska had been "found to be above board". Mandelson said that meeting business figures from "across the range" in emerging economies was part of his brief as EU Trade Commissioner. On 29 October 2008, while Mandelson was on a ministerial visit to Moscow, it was alleged in the British press that Valery Pechenkin, the head of security at Deripaska's company Basic Element, had organised a swift entry visa for Mandelson when he turned up in Moscow to visit Deripaska in 2005. In June 2013, writing for the Progress website, Mandelson warned Labour it risked harming its election chances if
affiliated trade unions In British politics, an affiliated trade union is one that is linked to the Labour Party. The party was created by the trade unions and socialist societies in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee and the unions have retained close institut ...
continued to "manipulate parliamentary selections" as was alleged in the
2013 Labour Party Falkirk candidate selection In 2013, Eric Joyce, member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for Falkirk, resigned from the Labour Party and announced he would not seek reelection. The process of nominating a replacement candidate for the 2015 general election ...
controversy. In April 2014, it was reported that Mandelson had strong ties to Russian conglomerate
Sistema AFK Sistema PAO is a large Russian conglomerate company, founded by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who was chairman of the corporation's board of directors until 2022. In April, Yevtushenkov's shareholding in Sistema has decreased to 49.2%, and he also ...
. In 2019, UK's Channel 4 aired an episode of '' Dispatches'' where a source close to Epstein claimed that Peter Mandelson (while serving as a UK Cabinet Minister) made a phonecall to Epstein while he was in prison after pleading guilty for trafficking minors in order to set up a meeting with
Jamie Dimon James Dimon (; born March 13, 1956) is an American billionaire businessman and banker who has been the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase – the largest of the big four American banks – since 2005. Dimon was previously on ...
, CEO of JP Morgan. In a statement, lawyers for Mandelson said: “Our client has no recollection of a telephone conversation with Mr Epstein in January 2009. He talked to bank CEOs on a regular basis, including Mr Dimon. These contacts were arranged through his office.”


Non-political commitments

Mandelson was, until 8 October 2008, the President of Central School of Speech and Drama. He was replaced in this un-remunerated post by playwright
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
, who died two months later. In 2011, Mandelson was guest of honour at Herbert Morrison Primary School in Vauxhall, South London. The school was hosting a special themed day in honour of Mandelson's grandfather, Herbert Morrison, after whom the school was named.


Personal life


Partner and sexuality

Mandelson is gay and he is said to be 'intensely private' about his personal life. During his time as a former government leader, the press – tabloid and broadsheet alike – often portrayed Mandelson as effeminate through "the linguistic resources of camp" and narcissistic – sometimes including coded references to homosexual acts in their descriptions of his actions. He has lived with his partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva, a Brazilian translator, since March 1998.


Attempted outings and harassment

While his sexual orientation was known to friends, colleagues and constituents, in 1987 the ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' ran an issue that attempted to out Mandelson as gay. Mandelson preferred to keep his personal life private and as such did not respond. Mandelson was outed again by Matthew Parris in 1998 on the BBC programme '' Newsnight''. This led to press harassment of his partner, with the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' sending a reporter to take pictures of him while he was at his languages course. An internal investigation later found that the photos had been obtained without Avila da Silva's consent and images of him attempting to cover his face had been secretly deleted. Mandelson phoned the BBC and the Press Complaints Commission following ''Newsnight'' broadcast, and an internal memo was later sent within the BBC, stating that "Under no circumstances whatsoever should allegations about the private life of Peter Mandelson be repeated or referred to on any broadcast."


In the media

*
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
's '' Storyville'' in 2010, ''Mandelson: The Real PM?'', directed by Hannah Rothschild, a fly on the wall documentary about Mandelson as Business Secretary in the run up to the 2010 general election. * Mandelson was portrayed by Paul Rhys in the 2003 Channel 4 drama '' The Deal''. * Mandelson was portrayed by Mark Gatiss in the 2015 Channel 4 drama ''
Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
''. * Mandelson was portrayed by Nigel Planer in the 2011 comedy drama ''
The Hunt for Tony Blair ''The Hunt for Tony Blair'' is a one-off episode of '' The Comic Strip Presents...'', a British television comedy, which was first shown on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011. The 49-minute film was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens and pr ...
''. * The ''
Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show ** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light'' ...
'' character Sebastian Love was based on Mandelson


Honours

* Officer, Legion of Honour (2017) * Life peerage (2008)


Bibliography

* (with
Roger Liddle Roger John Liddle, Baron Liddle (born 14 June 1947) is a British political adviser and consultant who is principally known for being Special Adviser on European matters to the former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President of the European Comm ...
) ''The Blair Revolution: Can New Labour Deliver?'' Faber, 1996 ; ''The Blair Revolution Revisited'', (2nd ed), Politicos, 2002, * (contributor) ''
The City in Europe and the World ''The City in Europe and the World'' () is a 2005 collection of essays examining the relationship between the City of London's financial markets, politics, government, and Europe, edited by Stephen Barber and with a foreword by Peter Mandelson. T ...
'', European Research Forum at London Metropolitan University, 2006 * ''The Third Man: Life at the Heart of New Labour'' Harper Press, 2010


Notes


References


Further reading

* Jones, Nicholas (2000): ''Sultans of Spin: The Media and the New Labour Government'' Orion Books, * Macintyre, Donald (1999): ''Mandelson: The Biography'' HarperCollins, * Rawnsley, Andrew (2001): ''Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour'' Penguin Books, * Routledge, Paul (1999): ''Mandy: The Unauthorised Biography of Peter Mandelson'' Simon & Schuster, * Seldon, Anthony (2005): ''Blair'' The Free Press,


Works

* Mandelson, Peter (1997):
Labour's next steps
' Fabian Society * Mandelson, Peter (2002): ''The Blair Revolution Revisited'' Politico's, *


External links


Lord Mandelson, former MP – They Work For You

Peter Mandelson profile at UK Parliament

Peter Mandelson , Financial Times

Policy Network

Profile: Peter Mandelson
BBC News, 3 October 2008
13 August 2004

Peter Mandelson: Interview in full
PublicAffairsAsia.com, 18 August 2008, on sovereign wealth funds
Peter Mandelson: Interview
on New Statesman, 1 October 2008. * *
Social Democracy Observatory
* * * *
Peter Mandelson , Politics , The Guardian
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandelson, Peter 1953 births Living people Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford British European Commissioners Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth English socialists English male non-fiction writers English people of Polish-Jewish descent English political writers First Secretaries of State of the United Kingdom Gay politicians Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) officials LGBT life peers LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBT politicians from England Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom New Labour People educated at Hendon School People from Hendon Politics of the Borough of Hartlepool Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Writers from London Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Presidents of the Board of Trade Hartlepool United F.C. non-playing staff Life peers created by Elizabeth II