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Peter Benjamin Mandelson was born on 21 October 1953 in London. He attended Hendon County Grammar School and then moved on to St Catherine's College, Oxford where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He graduated from Oxford University in 1976.
Early Career
After leaving university, Mandelson became director of the British Youth Council, and in September 1979, he was elected to Lambeth Borough Council. However, he retired from the council in 1982 as he was disillusioned with the state of the Labour Party.
In 1985, Mandelson became the Labour party's Director of Communications. Mandelson ran the 1986 by-election campaign in Fulham that saw Labour defeat the Conservative Party. In the position, he ran the 1987 general election campaign for the Labour Party.
Mandelson as an MP
The 1992 general election saw Mandelson elected as Member of Parliament for Hartlepool. Between 1992 and the next general election, Mandelson became a close and trusted advisor of Tony Blair and was the Labour party's Campaign Director for the 1997 general election. Labour won the election with a landslide majority.
Mandelson's first job within the government was as Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet office. In July 1998, Mandelson joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. In the same year, he also became a Privy Councillor.
On 23 December 1998, Mandelson resigned from his position having been caught up in a home loan scandal. He had been given a tax-free loan by another Labour MP, Geoffrey Robinson. He did not declare it to the relevant authorities and he left government after the Prime Minister thought that nothing else would clear the media storm.
In October 1998, Mandelson returned to government as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. During his time in the job, he oversaw the reform of the police service.
January 2001 saw Mandelson resign for a second time after accusations that he used his position in order to influence a passport application.
On 22 November 2004, Peter Mandelson became the British European Commissioner for Trade. He served in the position until October 2008 in order to return to UK politics.
Mandelson's Peerage and Return to Government
On 3 October 2008, it was announced that as part of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet reshuffle, Mandelson would become Business Secretary and would also became of Life Peer, entitling him to a seat in the House of Lords.
On 5 June 2009, following another Cabinet reshuffle he became First Secretary of State and also Lord President of the Council. His powers as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills would also be enhanced.
Sources:
Profile: Peter Mandelson, BBC News
The Independent
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