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Desmond "Des" Henry Browne (born 22 March 1952) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock and Loudoun since 1997. He was a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, until the latter moved him from both Defence and Scottish Secretary in 2008.

Early life and education

Browne was born in Kilwinning, 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, promoted to partner in 1980. He became a partner in McCluskey Browne in 1985 and a council member of the Law Society of Scotland 1988-1992. 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 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 to stand down at the 2010 general election.^[2]

Government Minister

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 at the Department of Work and Pensions 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.^[3] Under Tony Blair's premiership, Browne was considered a support of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.^[3][4] He received the additional responsibilities of Secretary of State for Scotland in June 2007 after Brown became Prime Minister.

Browne meeting Robert Gates in Edinburgh during December 2007.

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.^[5] He returned to the backbench in October 2008.

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, currently 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^[6].

Personal life

Browne is married and has two sons.

References

External links

• Des Browne MP website
• Ministry of Defence official biography
• Speech on Iraq November 2006
• Speech on Afghanistan September 2006
• Speech on the UK's Nuclear Deterrent January 2007
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Des Browne MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Des Browne MP
• Des Browne's article in the Daily Record (Scotland) Newspaper covering President Obama's Inauguration 20 January 2009

Offices held