Des Browne

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = The Lord Browne of Ladyton

| honorific-suffix = PC

| image = Official portrait of Lord Browne of Ladyton crop 2, 2022.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2022

| office = Secretary of State for Scotland

| primeminister = Gordon Brown

| term_start = 28 June 2007

| term_end = 3 October 2008

| predecessor = Douglas Alexander

| successor = Jim Murphy

| office1 = Secretary of State for Defence

| primeminister1 = Tony Blair
Gordon Brown

| term_start1 = 5 May 2006

| term_end1 = 3 October 2008

| predecessor1 = John Reid

| successor1 = John Hutton

| office2 = Chief Secretary to the Treasury

| primeminister2 = Tony Blair

| term_start2 = 6 May 2005

| term_end2 = 5 May 2006

| predecessor2 = Paul Boateng

| successor2 = Stephen Timms

{{collapsed infobox section begin|Junior ministerial offices

|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes

|office = Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counterterrorism

|primeminister = Tony Blair

|term_start = 1 April 2004

|term_end = 6 May 2005

|predecessor = Beverley Hughes

|successor = Tony McNulty

|office1 = Minister of State for Work

|primeminister1 = Tony Blair

|term_start1 = 13 June 2003

|term_end1 = 1 April 2004

|predecessor1 = Nick Brown

|successor1 = Jane Kennedy

|office2 = Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

|primeminister2 = Tony Blair

|term_start2 = 11 June 2001

|term_end2 = 13 June 2003

|predecessor2 = George Howarth

|successor2 = John Spellar

}}

{{collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|Parliamentary offices

|cont=yes |titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes

|office = Member of the House of Lords

|status = Lord Temporal

|termlabel = Life peerage

|term_start = 22 July 2010

|term_end =

|office1 = Member of Parliament
for Kilmarnock and Loudoun

|term_start1 = 1 May 1997

|term_end1 = 12 April 2010

|predecessor1 = William McKelvey

|successor1 = Cathy Jamieson

}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|3|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stevenston, Scotland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Scottish Labour

| alma_mater = University of Glasgow

}}

Desmond Henry Browne, Baron Browne of Ladyton, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|PC}} (born 22 March 1952) is a Scottish politician who served in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Secretary of State for Defence 2006 to 2008 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2007 to 2008. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 1997 to 2010.

Early life and education

Browne was born in Boglemart, Stevenston, North Ayrshire, lived in Stevenston for the early part of his life, and was educated at the Catholic St Michael's Academy in Kilwinning and later at the University of Glasgow, where he received a degree in law.

Legal career

He started his legal career in 1974 as an apprentice solicitor with the firm James Campbell & Co. On qualifying in 1976 he became an assistant solicitor with Ross, Harper and Murphy, and was promoted to partner in 1980. He became a partner in McCluskey Browne in 1985, and was a council member of the Law Society of Scotland from 1988 to 1992. He was admitted as an advocate in 1993, practising at the Scottish bar until 1997. He worked mainly in child law.

Parliamentary career

Browne contested the parliamentary seat of Argyll and Bute at the 1992 general election, and finished in fourth place behind the sitting Liberal Democrat MP Ray Michie. He was elected to the Faculty of Advocates in 1993. Browne was selected to contest the safe Labour seat of Kilmarnock and Loudoun following the retirement of the sitting MP William McKelvey. Browne won the seat at the 1997 general election with a majority of 7,256. He made his maiden speech on 20 June 1997.

Browne joined the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee on his election, and became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for Scotland Donald Dewar in 1998. After Dewar left the Cabinet in 1999, to seek election as the First Minister of Scotland, Browne remained in post as PPS to the new Secretary of State John Reid. In 2000 he became the PPS to the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office.

On 27 November 2009, Browne announced his intention not to seek election in the 2010 general election.{{cite news |title=Des Browne to quit House of Commons after next election |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8383783.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=27 November 2009 |access-date=2 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130055004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8383783.stm |archive-date=30 November 2009}}

Government minister

File:Browne and gates.jpg in Edinburgh during December 2007]]

After the 2001 general election Browne entered Tony Blair's government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office. He was promoted to Minister of State for Work in 2003, before moving to the Home Office in 2004 as the minister with responsibility for immigration. He joined the Cabinet following the 2005 general election as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and became a member of the Privy Council.

Browne was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 5 May 2006. An advocate of the UK Trident programme, in 2007 he successfully persuaded Parliament to vote to replace Trident. He came under criticism, however, after allowing the Royal Navy personnel captured by Iran in spring 2007 to sell and publish their stories.{{cite news |title=Profile: Des Browne |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4977660.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=15 April 2007 |access-date=2009-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327002951/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4977660.stm |archive-date=27 March 2009}} Under Blair's premiership, Browne was considered a supporter of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Sarah |title=Brown's man Browne gets poisoned chalice |url=https://www.theguardian.com/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1184117,00.html |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2013-03-13}} He received the additional responsibilities of Secretary of State for Scotland in June 2007 after Brown became prime minister.

In a free parliamentary vote on 20 May 2008, Browne voted for cutting the upper limit for abortions from 24 to 12 weeks, along with two other Catholic cabinet ministers, Ruth Kelly and Paul Murphy.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7409696.stm |title=MPs back 24-week abortion limit |publisher=BBC News |date=2008-05-20 |access-date=2013-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330152748/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7409696.stm |archive-date=30 March 2009 |url-status=live}} He returned to the backbenches in October 2008 following a cabinet reshuffle.

Browne gave evidence to the Iraq Inquiry on 25 January 2010.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8479074.stm|title=Ex-defence secretary speaks of strain of Iraq losses |date=25 January 2010 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=29 January 2010}}

He was created a life peer on 22 July 2010, taking the title Baron Browne of Ladyton, of Ladyton in Ayrshire and Arran.{{London Gazette |issue=59500 |date=27 July 2010 |page=14307}}

He is a Fellow Commoner of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.[https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/directory/lord-des-browne Lord Des Browne Fellow Commoner]

Activities after leaving government

Browne is vice chairman of the Washington, DC–based Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit, nonpartisan organisation founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, who serves as co-chair and CEO, and CNN founder and philanthropist Ted Turner. NTI's mission is to strengthen global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Browne is convener of the European Leadership Network for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation.{{cite web |url=http://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/des-browne_67.html |title=Members: Lord Desmond Browne of Ladyton |publisher=European Leadership Network for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation |access-date=25 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726042056/http://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/des-browne_67.html |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=live}} and he is also convenor of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation, established in October 2009.{{cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |title=Nuclear-free world ultimate aim of new cross-party pressure group |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/08/nuclear-disarmament-cross-party-group |url-status=live |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=8 September 2009 |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/08/nuclear-disarmament-cross-party-group |archive-date=30 June 2009}}{{cite report |url=http://www.basicint.org/publications/des-browne/2010/nuclear-policy-paper-no3 |title=Current NATO Nuclear Policy |author=Des Browne |date=November 2010 |publisher=Arms Control Association et al |access-date=25 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203074650/http://www.basicint.org/publications/des-browne/2010/nuclear-policy-paper-no3 |archive-date=3 December 2010 |url-status=live}}

He is a signatory of Global Zero, a non-profit international initiative for the elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide.{{cite news |title=Group Offers Plan to Eliminate Nukes by 2030 |url=http://www.globalzero.org/files/pdf/NYT_Jun29_09_AP_Syndicated.pdf |newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513205939/http://www.globalzero.org/files/pdf/NYT_Jun29_09_AP_Syndicated.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2011 |df=dmy-all}}{{cite news |last=Corera |first=Gordon |title=Group seeks nuclear weapons ban |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7774584.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=10 December 2008 |access-date=30 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728005425/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7774584.stm |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live}}

=Controversy over appointment as envoy to Sri Lanka=

In February 2009, Browne was appointed by PM Brown as the government's special envoy to Sri Lanka. However, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, fighting the LTTE rebel group, rejected Browne's appointment, stating that the British government made the appointment unilaterally, without consultation with the Sri Lankan government.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7887853.stm |title=Sri Lanka rejects UK's new envoy |publisher=BBC News |date=2009-02-13 |access-date=2013-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213214657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7887853.stm |archive-date=13 February 2009 |url-status=live}}

References

External links

{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090622170808/http://www.desbrownemp.co.uk/ Des Browne MP website]}}
{{Hansard-contribs | mr-des-browne | Des Browne }}
[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Ministers/SecretaryOfStateForDefence.htm Ministry of Defence official biography]
[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/UkDefenceStrategyInIraq.htm Speech on Iraq November 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209030443/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/UkDefenceStrategyInIraq.htm |date=9 December 2006 }}
[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/RusiSpeech19thSep2006.htm Speech on Afghanistan September 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209043642/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/RusiSpeech19thSep2006.htm |date=9 December 2006 }}
[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/TheUnitedKingdomsNuclearDeterrentInThe21stCentury.htm Speech on the UK's Nuclear Deterrent January 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214013844/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/People/Speeches/SofS/TheUnitedKingdomsNuclearDeterrentInThe21stCentury.htm |date=14 February 2007 }}
[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-666,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Des Browne MP]
[https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/des_browne/kilmarnock_and_loudoun TheyWorkForYou.com - Des Browne MP]
[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2009/01/21/a-day-of-destiny-by-des-browne-mp-86908-21057688/ Des Browne's article] in the Daily Record, covering President Obama's Inauguration 20 January 2009
[http://www.globalzero.org Global Zero]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100815063542/http://www.globalzero.org/en/who/des-browne Des Browne at Global Zero]