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Peter Mandelson

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Mandelson

PC
First Secretary of State
Assumed office
5 June 2009
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byJohn Prescott
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
Assumed office
3 October 2008
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byHimself
Lord President of the Council
Assumed office
5 June 2009
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byThe Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
In office
3 October 2008 – 5 June 2009
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byJohn Hutton
Succeeded byHimself
European Commissioner for Trade
In office
22 November 2004 – 3 October 2008
PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso
Preceded byPascal Lamy
Succeeded byThe Baroness Ashton of Upholland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
11 October 1999 – 24 January 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byMo Mowlam
Succeeded byJohn Reid
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
In office
27 July 1998 – 23 December 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byMargaret Beckett (President of the Board of Trade)
Succeeded byStephen Byers
Minister without Portfolio
In office
2 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byBrian Mawhinney
Succeeded byCharles Clarke
Member of Parliament
for Hartlepool
In office
9 April 1992 – 23 July 2004
Preceded byEdward Leadbitter
Succeeded byIain Wright
Majority22,506 (59.1%)
Personal details
Born (1953-10-21) 21 October 1953 (age 70)
South London, United Kingdom
Political partyLabour
Alma materSt Catherine's College, Oxford

Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who is the current UK First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and Lord President of the Council. Mandelson, along with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is regarded as one of the main players in the rebranding of the Labour Party as "New Labour".[1]Accused on many occasions of being a liar [2][3][4][5][6][7], he is often referred to as the Prince of Darkness[8][9] and also by the nickname "Mandy" by much of the British news media.[10] He was inducted into the House of Lords on 13 October 2008.[11]

Having helped Labour come to power in 1997, he was then forced twice to resign from Tony Blair's government while holding Cabinet positions. After his second resignation he served as the European Commissioner for Trade for almost four years, before being brought back into mainstream British politics by Gordon Brown.

Before Labour came to power, he was author (with Roger Liddle) of The Blair Revolution (1996). More recently, he contributed to the book The City in Europe and the World (2005). Mandelson served as Member of Parliament for Hartlepool for twelve years, a seat he vacated in order to become a European Commissioner. When he returned to the Cabinet in 2008, he was created a life peer.

Early life

Mandelson was born in London in 1953, where his father was the advertising manager at The Jewish Chronicle. On his mother's side, he is the grandson of Herbert Morrison, the London County Council leader and Labour cabinet minister.

He was educated at Hendon County Grammar School. In his youth, he briefly rebelled against his family's Labour tradition due to Labour's support of the United States in the Vietnam War and in 1971 left the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) to join the Young Communist League, then the youth wing of the Communist Party of Great Britain. This move was partly a result of disagreements with the Trotskyist Militant tendency that had just won a majority in the LPYS nationally. [citation needed]

He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Catherine's College, Oxford (1973-1976) and, after returning to the Labour Party, became director of the British Youth Council in the late 1970s. As BYC director, he was a delegate in 1978 to the Soviet-organised World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana, Cuba, with Arthur Scargill and several future Labour cabinet colleagues.[12][13] He was elected to Lambeth Borough Council in September 1979, but retired in 1982, disillusioned with the state of Labour politics.

Spin doctor

He worked as a television producer at London Weekend Television on Weekend World, forming an enduring friendship with John Birt, then LWT's Director of Programmes, before being appointed as the Labour Party's Director of Communications in 1985. Mandelson was able to secure close friendships within the Labour Party due to uncle Alexander Butler who had worked alongside many important Labour politicians during the 1960s. In this role he was one of the first people in Britain to whom the term "spin doctor" was applied; during this period he acquired the nickname "The Prince of Darkness" (originally coined in the satirical magazine Private Eye). In 1986 he ran the campaign at the Fulham by-election that saw Labour defeat the Conservative Party.

He managed Labour's widely admired, but electorally unsuccessful 1987 general election campaign. During this campaign, the News of the World published a story about his private life based on the revelations of a former lover.

An urban legend in the Labour Party has Mandelson, visiting a fish and chip shop in his new constituency, saw the mushy peas and asked the proprietor about the "guacamole dip". However, the story has been traced to a question asked by an American trainee at the Knowsley North by-election of 1986,[14] and Neil Kinnock has admitted to being one of the people who applied it to Mandelson as a joke. A related story, reflecting claims that he was unpopular in the party, is that he once asked Gordon Brown for 10p to phone a friend. Brown told him: "Have 20p, then you can phone them both."[15] (The same story has been told about Herbert Hoover asking Andrew Mellon for a nickel and David Lloyd George asking Winston Churchill for sixpence.)

Member of Parliament

He ceased being a Labour Party official in 1990, when he was selected as Labour candidate for the safe seat of Hartlepool. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1992 general election.[16]

Shadow Cabinet

He made several notable speeches in which his strong support for the European Union was outlined. He was close to two Shadow Cabinet members, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, both of whom were regarded as potential future leaders, though he was sidelined during the brief period when John Smith led the party. After Smith's sudden death in 1994, Mandelson chose to back Blair for the leadership—believing him to be a superior communicator to Brown[17]—and played a leading but initially secret role in the leadership campaign. This created long-lasting antagonism between Mandelson and Brown, who felt he had been betrayed.

Mandelson became a close ally and trusted adviser to Blair. He was Labour's election Campaign Director for the 1997 general election, which Labour won by a landslide.

Government minister

After the election, Blair appointed him as a Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office, where his job was to co-ordinate within government. A few months later, he also acquired responsibility for the Millennium Dome, 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, the Dome 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, Ms 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".[18]

In July 1998, Mandelson joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. 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 czar to lead the UK in what he termed the "new industrial revolution". In 1998 he was appointed a Privy Councillor.

First resignation

In December 1998, it was revealed Mandelson had bought a home in Notting Hill in 1996 with the assistance of an interest-free loan of £373,000 from Geoffrey Robinson, a millionaire Labour MP who was also in the Government, but was subject to an inquiry into his business dealings by Mandelson's department.[19] Although Mandelson alleged he had deliberately not taken part in any decisions relating to Robinson, he knew he should have declared the loan as an interest, and he resigned on 23 December 1998.[19] 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."[20]

Mandelson was out of the Cabinet for ten months. In October 1999, he was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, replacing Mo Mowlam. In his very first speech in the post he made a gaffe by referring to himself as the "Secretary of State for Ireland."[21] During his tenure he oversaw the creation of the devolved legislative assembly and power-sharing executive, and reform of the police service.

On 16 October 2000 it was reported that Geoffrey Robinson, the Labour MP, "accused Peter Mandelson of lying to the Commons about the home loan affair that cost both of them their Government jobs."[22][23]

Second resignation

In January 2001, it was revealed Mandelson had phoned 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. At the time, Hinduja and his brothers were under investigation by the Indian government for alleged involvement in the Bofors scandal. On 24 January 2001, Mandelson resigned from the Government for a second time,[24][25] insisting he had done nothing wrong. An independent enquiry by Sir Anthony Hammond came to the conclusion that neither Mandelson nor anyone else had acted improperly. The front page headline in The Independent newspaper read in part "Passport to Oblivion".[26]

On 28 January 2001 it was reported: "Mandelson and Blair go to war over 'lies'". Mandelson was quoted saying "I am not a liar. I didn't lie".[27][28]

The headline writers were premature. 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",[29] but Mandelson was re-elected with a large majority.[30] This prompted him to make an exuberant acceptance speech, which was televised live, in which he declared that "I'm a fighter, not a quitter"[1] and referred to his "inner steel".

After the general election, Mandelson was chair of the Policy Network and the UK-Japan 21st century Group, a columnist for GQ and president of Hartlepool United FC.

On 12 June 2009 it was reported that "Peter Mandelson may have lied about his involvement with the Hinduja brothers more than two years ago."[31]

European Commission

Despite his exoneration by the Hammond Inquiry, Mandelson's reappointment to the Cabinet seemed politically difficult. He indicated his interest in becoming the United Kingdom's European Commissioner when the new Commission was established in 2004 (both of Britain's incumbents, Neil Kinnock and Chris Patten, were standing down). Appointment as a Commissioner would require his resignation from Parliament and therefore a by-election in his constituency. While some were concerned that the seat would be difficult for the government to retain, Mandelson convinced his colleagues that Labour would perform well.

His appointment was announced in the summer and Mandelson resigned his seat through appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 8 September 2004.[32] His predictions about the state of play in the Hartlepool by-election proved accurate as Labour kept the seat with a majority of more than 2,000.

On 22 November 2004, Mandelson became Britain's European Commissioner for Trade. 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 is at the centre of a major EU investigation, although it did not allege impropriety.[33]

During the summer of 2008, Mandelson had a widely publicised argument with Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France.[1] Sarkozy criticised Mandelson's support for free trade and accused him of being responsible for the no vote in the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon.[1] Mandelson protested that his negotiating position in world trade talks had been weakened by Sarkozy's comments and that he would stand up for himself.[1]

In 2008, melamine added to Chinese milk caused kidney stones and other ailments in tens of thousands of Chinese children, and killed at least six. To show his confidence in Chinese dairy products, Mandelson drank a glass of Chinese milk in front of reporters.[34] Nine days later, he was hospitalised for a kidney stone.[35][36]

Return to UK government

On 3 October 2008, as part of Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle, it was announced amid some controversy[37][38] that Mandelson would return to government in the re-drawn post of Business Secretary, and would be made a life peer, entitling him to a seat in the House of Lords.[39][40] On 13 October 2008 he was created Baron Mandelson, of Foy in the county of Herefordshire and Hartlepool in the county of Durham,[41][42] and took his seat in the House of Lords the same day. In a poll conducted by the centre-left thinktank Compass, Mandelson proved to be more popular with rank and file party members than Deputy Party Leader Harriet Harman. This was acclaimed to be surprising due to Mandelson's previously-strained relationship with grassroots members, set against Harman's record of success winning grassroots votes in her bid for Deputy.[43] Mandelson's return to government was seen by The Guardian as an astute move by Gordon Brown,[44] However, whilst Mandelson reinvigorated the Government of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister himself received low poll ratings. Some Blairite ministers, such as James Purnell, left the government, calling for Brown's resignation. However, Mandelson now worked with Ed Balls and Gordon Brown to help secure loyalty.[45]

In a reshuffle on 5 June 2009, Lord Mandelson was appointed to the honorific office of First Secretary of State, making him Deputy Prime Minister in all but name, a controversial position for an un-elected politician. [46] Mandelson was also appointed to the position of Lord President of the Council. It was also announced that he would continue in his role as Business Secretary, with much expanded powers.[47][48].

Personal life

In October 1998, during his first period in the Cabinet, Mandelson was the centre of a great deal of media attention when Matthew Parris (openly gay former MP and then Parliamentary sketch writer of The Times) mentioned during a live interview on Newsnight, in the wake of the resignation of Ron Davies, that "Peter Mandelson is certainly gay".[49] Mandelson's homosexuality had been well-known but not widely publicised except on the front pages of The People newspaper, and Mandelson had not wanted it discussed.[50] After Parris's remarks, the press felt free to discuss his personal life (in particular his relationship with the Brazilian Reinaldo Avila da Silva) to a much greater extent.

Mandelson's reputation may have been harmed rather than helped by the initial decision by Anne Sloman, the BBC's chief political adviser on editorial policy[51] to block any mention of his private life on the BBC. It was suggested that the Director General of the BBC at the time, John Birt, had had a direct hand in the ban. The popular BBC TV show Have I Got News For You refused to comply and discussed this matter almost openly - Ian Hislop said, "We're not allowed to say that Peter Mandelson is a hom...eowner," to which Paul Merton replied, "What's wrong with gay people owning homes?"

Mandelson also acquired the nickname "Mandy" by reference to his surname.[52]

In April 1999, Peter Mandelson supported his biography by The Independent's Donald Macintyre, and discussed his homosexuality and being outed.[53] In 2000, Peter Mandelson publicly recognised his long term relationship with da Silva by allowing photographs of them together.[54]

Tam Dalyell, while Father of the House of Commons, claimed Mandelson formed part of Blair's 'Jewish cabal' in May 2003. In response Mandelson said: "Apart from the fact that I am not actually Jewish, I wear my father's parentage with pride."[55]

Mandelson was, until 8 October 2008, the president of Central School of Speech and Drama.[56] He was replaced in this unremunerated post by playwright Harold Pinter, who died some weeks later.

Recent controversies

In October 2006, Mandelson generated more controversy when asked what he thought of Jack Straw's remarks about Muslim women and the veil. Mandelson was overheard by a journalist to remark: "I have no doubt that Gordon Brown would agree with me that, for all his remarkable qualities, he would come over much better were he to agree to wear a veil. Gordon looks pretty dreadful without his face covered up".[57]

Peter Mandelson "slimed" by green custard

In February 2007, the Daily Express reported that as EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson “requested a luxury £80,000 Maserati as his official EU car”. The Express claims Louis Michel, the Belgian EU Commissioner, was the source of the story and that Jose Barroso, the President of the Commission, rejected the request saying EU taxpayers "would not understand" the justification behind an £80,000 car.[58]

In March 2007 an interview made public by The Guardian revealed Mandelson to be critical of concessions Tony Blair made to Sinn Féin.[59]

On 27 October 2008 Mandelson was openly accused of being a liar in an article by Trevor Kavanagh in the Sun. According to the article "The first thing to remember when considering Peter Mandelson's version of events is that he is a proven liar. I can say that with certainty because he has lied point blank to me...More importantly, he lied to his building society about a mortgage - a criminal offence which has landed others, including a judge, behind bars." [60]

On 11 January 2009 Mandelson started a brief period of contributions to Labour List[61], the blog set up by his former colleague Derek Draper. His first blog was entitled "In new media command and control doesn't work: we need to embrace and engage". On 12 January 2009 he responded to comments suggesting that he was not actually "embracing and engaging" writing: "Once I have attended the government's job summit this morning I will be responding to them, even from those people with rather odd names...". On 14 January 2009 he wrote "Barry, I am sorry I haven't been able to post a comment yet but I have been a bit busy with the business loans initiative. I will return, promise!". That was Mandelson's last contribution to the comment sections on Labour List.[62]

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, apparently in protest over Lord Mandelson's support for a third runway at Heathrow airport.[63]

On 17 April 2009 Mandelson was branded 'dishonest' following a question and answer session with voters following a Cabinet away day in Scotland. .[64]

On 7 June 2009, emails that were highly critical of Gordon Brown that Peter Mandelson sent former Labour spin doctor Derek Draper in January 2008 were leaked to the News of the World which claimed that Brown was "insecure" and a "self-conscious person, physically and emotionally".[65]

Deripaska affair

In October 2008 Mandelson was reported by the press to have maintained private contacts over several years with Russia oligarch Oleg Deripaska, most recently on holiday in August 2008 on Deripaska's yacht at Taverna Agni on the Greek island of Corfu.[66][67] 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.[68] Mandelson denied that there had been a conflict of interest and insisted that he had never discussed aluminium tariffs with Deripaska.[69]

On 26 October 2008, the Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said 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".[70] The following day, in a newspaper interview Mandelson declined to say how many times he had met Deripaska or what they discussed."[71]

On 29 October 2008, while Mandelson was on a ministerial visit to Moscow[72][73], he was reported in the British press to have availed himself of the services of the KGB Colonel-General Valery Pechenkin, head of security at Deripaska's company Basic Element. It was alleged that Pechenkin had organised a swift entry visa for Mandelson when he turned up in Moscow to visit Deripaska in 2005.[74]

On 14 January 2009 the Mail on Sunday asked how he had financed the purchase of a villa in London. Public records showed that he had paid £2.5 million for the property in 2006: almost 16 times his then salary as an EU commissioner. Reports at the time said that he had sold his shares in an advertising agency and received a large legacy from his mother, but Companies House records showed that the shares were not sold until 2007, while a copy of his mother's will revealed that he had been left only £452,000.[75]

On 8 May 2009 the Daily Telegraph raised questions about the timing of Peter Mandelson’s house claim 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." [76]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Profile: Peter Mandelson, BBC News, 3 October 2008.
  2. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mandelson-lied-over-loan-634660.html
  3. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370559/Mandelson-lied-over-home-loan.html
  4. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4126050,00.html
  5. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/i-did-not-lie-and-was-forced-to-quit-704678.html
  6. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-17912/Mandelson-lied-Hinduja-meetings.html
  7. ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kavanagh/article1858222.ece
  8. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/peter-mandelson-prince-of-darkness-who-travels-the-world-spreading-the-gospel-for-new-labour-595112.html
  9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/404194.stm
  10. ^ "UK Politics. How Mandy might have done it". bbc.co.uk. 1999-06-15. Retrieved 2008-10-10. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ "Baron Mandelson joins the Lords". BBC. 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  12. ^ Wilson, Brian (2003-08-28). "Revolution revisited". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Ahmed, Kamal (2003-01-19). "Race winner". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Tim Rayment, "Guacamole tale gets fishier; Mushy peas", Sunday Times, 1 October 1995, p. 1
  15. ^ "Vipers at the birthday bash". Archive.thisisyork.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
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  19. ^ a b "Double resignation rocks government". BBC. 1998-12-23. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  20. ^ "Mandelson gets mortgage all-clear". BBC. 1999-01-08. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  21. ^ "Mandelson passes first Commons test". BBC. 1999-10-20. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  22. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370559/Mandelson-lied-over-home-loan.html
  23. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mandelson-lied-over-loan-634660.html
  24. ^ "BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Mandelson resigns over Hinduja affair". News.bbc.co.uk. 24 January 2001. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  25. ^ "No. 56106". The London Gazette. 31 January 2001.
  26. ^ Andrew Grice, "The Mandelson Resignation: Passport to Oblivion", The Independent, 25 January 2001
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  28. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/i-did-not-lie-and-was-forced-to-quit-704678.html
  29. ^ "Mandelson faces new challenger". BBC News. 5 May 2001. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  30. ^ Ask Aristotle. "Hartlepool". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  31. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-17912/Mandelson-lied-Hinduja-meetings.html
  32. ^ "No. 57414". The London Gazette. 20 September 2004.
  33. ^ Anthony Browne, Daniel McGrory and Lewis Smith "Mandelson, the computer king and a party on a luxury yacht", The Times, 22 April 2009
  34. ^ Mandelson continues to drink Chinese milk
  35. ^ Peter Mandelson to have kidney stone removed
  36. ^ UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson drinks Chinese milk, then gets diagnosed with kidney stone 9 days later
  37. ^ http://www.politics.co.uk/news/legal-and-constitutional/mandelson-becomes-peer-amid-controversy-$1244576.htm
  38. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/13/mandelson-lords
  39. ^ "Mandelson to return to government". BBC News website. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  40. ^ "No. 58848". The London Gazette. 10 October 2008.
  41. ^ "Mine's a double: Lord Peter Mandelson reveals full title". Times Online. 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-10-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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  43. ^ "Harriet Harman less popular than Peter Mandelson among Labour members". Telegraph webside. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
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  45. ^ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lcp37/Newsnight_Brown_on_the_Brink}}
  46. ^ "Weakened Gordon Brown unable to shift cabinet's bigger beasts". Guardian website. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  47. ^ Full list of Cabinet members, Prime Minister’s Office, 5 June 2009
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  49. ^ "Mandelson is gay, says former MP". The Mirror. 1998-10-28. p. 3. A TV audience was shocked last night when a former MP claimed Trade supremo Peter Mandelson was homosexual. Columnist Matthew Parris - ex-Tory MP for West Derbyshire - told BBC Newsnight that Mandelson was one of two gays in Tony Blair's Cabinet. The claim came during a discussion of the Ron Davies crisis.
  50. ^ "Ian McKellen ranked most influential gay man". Pink News.
  51. ^ Sandra Laville "BBC blackout on questions about Mandelson's sexuality", Daily Telegraph', 31 October 1998. Retrieved on 3 October 2008.
  52. ^ "UK Politics. How Mandy might have done it". bbc.co.uk. 1999-06-15. Retrieved 2008-10-10. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  53. ^ Paul Eastham (1999-04-21). "The prince rips off his mark; A new book, written with his help, reveals the truth about Peter Mandelson's private life and how he spent the night he resigned from the Cabinet with his homosexual lover and the Blairs at Chequers". DAILY MAIL.
  54. ^ Martin Smith (2000-04-23). "The Graduate; So here's to you Mr Mandelson, as the Ulster Secretary and his partner go public...". The Mail on Sunday. p. 7. It could hardly have been a more public statement of their friendship. Peter Mandelson, 46, and his long-time partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, 28, were among the audience at the Gielgud Theatre to watch the West End stage adaptation of the Sixties film classic The Graduate... Reinaldo now shares the Minister's London home in Notting Hill. Recently, neighbours have noticed them shopping together for scented candles and incense and supervising the extensive renovation of the home Mr Mandelson bought for nearly 250,000 pounds last year.
  55. ^ "Fury as Dalyell attacks Blair's 'Jewish cabal'". 2003-05-04. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  56. ^ The House of Commons - Register of Members' Interests [1]
  57. ^ "The Labour Machine". The Independent.
  58. ^ Daily Express, 20 February 2007
  59. ^ "Mandelson tapes published". Guardian Online. 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  60. ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kavanagh/article1858222.ece
  61. ^ http://www.labourlist.org/peter_mandelson
  62. ^ http://www.labourlist.org/in_new_media_command_and_control_doesnt_work_we_need_to_embrace_,2009-01-11
  63. ^ Hines, Nico: Protester throws green custard in the face of Lord Mandelson and walks away The Times, March 6 2009
  64. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1170625/Smile-just-recession-Mandy-wants-know-people-darned-pessimistic.html
  65. ^ http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/347375/GOVERNMENT-fixer-Peter-Mandelson-delivered-a-damning-indictment-of-Gordon-Brown-telling-one-of-his-closest-former-aides-that-the-PM-needs-to-change-because-he-is-a-self-conscious-person-physically-and-emotionally.html
  66. ^ "Mandelson Scolded Over Deripaska". The Moscow Times. 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  67. ^ "Lord Mandelson and Oleg Deripaska dined together 'a year before they met'". The Times. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  68. ^ "U.K. Conservatives Linked to Deripaska". The Moscow Times. 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  69. ^ "Peter Mandelson dogged by his links to Russian oligarch". The Times. 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  70. ^ "Tories seek Mandelson 'clarity'". BBC. 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  71. ^ "Mandelson silent on Deripaska". The Guardian. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  72. ^ "Mandelson hails thaw in relations with Moscow". The Guardian. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  73. ^ "Питер Мандельсон: мы не должны втянуть себя в новую холодную войну" (Russian). Kommersant. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  74. ^ "Veteran KGB spy revealed as Deripaska's right-hand man". The Evening Standard. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  75. ^ Seamark, Michael (14 January 2009), "How IS Mandy paying for his £2.5m villa? Investigation raises questions over £400,000 shortfall", Mail on Sunday
  76. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5293035/MPs-expenses-Questions-over-timing-of-Peter-Mandelsons-house-claim.html

Further reading

  • Jones, Nicholas (2000). Sultans of Spin: The Media and the New Labour Government. Orion Books. ISBN 0-75282-769-3.
  • Macintyre, Donald (1999). Mandelson: The Biography. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-255943-9.
  • Mandelson, Peter (2002). The Blair Revolution Revisited. Politico's. ISBN 1-84275-039-9.
  • Rawnsley, Andrew (2001). Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-140-27850-8.
  • Routledge, Paul (1999). Mandy: The Unauthorised Biography of Peter Mandelson. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-85175-X.
  • Seldon, Anthony (2005). Blair. The Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-3212-7.

External links

Offices held

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hartlepool
1992 – 2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Steward of the Manor of Northstead
2004 – 2008 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister without Portfolio
1997 – 1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded byas President of the Board of Trade Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1999 – 2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Commissioner from the United Kingdom
2004 – 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Commissioner for Trade
2004 – 2008
Preceded by Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
2008 – 2009 		Succeeded by
Himself
as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
Preceded by
Himself
as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
 Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
2009 – present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
John Denham
as Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Vacant
Title last held by
John Prescott 		First Secretary of State
2009 – present
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
2009 – present

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