Margaret Beckett

Margaret Beckett

Margaret Mary Beckett (née Jackson; born 15 January 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death. She later served in the Cabinet under Tony Blair, most notably being appointed Foreign Secretary in 2006.

Beckett was first elected to Parliament in 1974 and held junior positions in the governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. She lost her seat in 1979 but returned to the House of Commons in 1983 and became a senior member of the Labour Party. She was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1992 and was briefly its leader in 1994 following the premature death of John Smith, the first woman to occupy either role.

After Labour's victory in the 1997 general election, Beckett became a member of Tony Blair's Cabinet. Initially the President of the Board of Trade, she was later the Leader of the House of Commons and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In 2006, Blair appointed her Foreign Secretary, making her the first woman to hold the position, and—after Margaret Thatcher—the second woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State.

After Blair resigned as Prime Minister in 2007, Margaret Beckett was not reappointed to the Cabinet. After some time, Blair's successor Gordon Brown made her Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008. She left the government again on 5 June 2009. She is currently the longest serving female MP in the Commons. She was one of the longest serving ministers in government and is one of the few remaining MPs who served in the Labour governments of the 1970s.

Read more about Margaret Beckett:  Early Life, Member of Parliament

Famous quotes containing the word beckett:

    I, of whom I know nothing, I know my eyes are open, because of the tears that pour from them unceasingly.
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