Des Browne
From Free net encyclopedia
The Right Honourable Desmond Henry Browne QC (born March 22, 1952) British politician and barrister. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock and Loudoun. He is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the Cabinet.
Des Browne was born in Kilwinning and was educated at the local St Michael's Academy and the University of Glasgow, where he received a degree in law. 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 solicitor in 1980. He became a partner in McClusky Browne in 1985 as a solicitor, becoming a council member of the Law Society of Scotland 1988-1992. He has concentrated mainly on Child Law.
He contested the parliamentary seat of Argyll and Bute at the 1992 General Election, and finished in a poor fourth place way behind the sitting Liberal Democrat MP Ray Michie. He was called to the bar in Scotland in 1993. Des 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 comfortably at the 1997 General Election with a majority of 7,256. He made his maiden speech on June 20, 1997.
Des 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.
After the 2001 General Election Des 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, after Beverley Hughes resigned in a scandal [1]. He joined the Cabinet following the 2005 General Election as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and became a Member of the Privy Council
Des Browne is considered a Brownite.[2], and has been married to Maura Taylor since 1983, they have two sons.