Peter Mandelson

Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British former Labour Party politician, lobbyist and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004. He served in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinets as Minister without portfolio, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Business Secretary and First Secretary of State. He was the British Ambassador to the United States in 2025 under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Mandelson served as director of communications from 1985 to 1990 during the leadership of Neil Kinnock. Sidelined during John Smith's leadership from 1992 to 1994, Mandelson became close to Blair and Brown. He was widely regarded as one of the architects of New Labour and a key adviser to Blair, contributing to the party's election victories in 1997 and 2001.

Mandelson served as Minister without Portfolio from 1997 to 1998, 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, and First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council from 2009 to 2010. He was European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008, being elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2008 to serve in the Brown cabinet as business secretary. After Labour lost the 2010 general election, Mandelson co-founded the lobbying firm Global Counsel. He remained active in Labour politics, and was an adviser to Starmer before Labour's return to office at the 2024 general election. During his short tenure as ambassador to the United States, Mandelson focused on promoting trade and fostering relationships with the US government during the second presidency of Donald Trump.

Mandelson's career has been marked by controversy, which resulted in his twice resigning from the Cabinet and being dismissed as ambassador in 2025. He bought a home in 1996 partly with an interest-free loan of £373,000 from Geoffrey Robinson, a Cabinet colleague whose business dealings were subject to an inquiry by Mandelson's department. He had not declared the loan in the Register of Members' Interests and resigned in December 1998. In January 2001 he again resigned from the government following accusations of using his position to influence a passport application for S. P. Hinduja.

In September 2025, a scandal arose concerning Mandelson's association with the financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which had been reported in 2019. Following reports that Mandelson had continued the friendship after Epstein's 2008 conviction, he was dismissed as ambassador by Starmer. In February 2026, further reports alleged that Mandelson and his husband had received payments from Epstein, and that in 2009 and 2010 Mandelson had passed sensitive government information to Epstein. Mandelson subsequently resigned from the Labour Party and from the House of Lords, and the Metropolitan Police opened an investigation into the allegations. He was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, then released on bail pending further investigation. Provided by Wikipedia