Margaret Beckett

British politician (born 1943)

Margaret Mary Beckett, Baroness Beckett GBE (née Jackson; born 15 January 1943) is a British Labour Party politician.


The Baroness Beckett

Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office
5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJack Straw
Succeeded byDavid Miliband
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office
8 June 2001 – 5 May 2006
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byNick Brown[a]
John Prescott[b]
Succeeded byDavid Miliband
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
8 June 2001 – 27 March 2002
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byNick Brown
Succeeded byHerself[c]
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
In office
27 July 1998 – 8 June 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byAnn Taylor
Succeeded byRobin Cook
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
President of the Board of Trade
In office
2 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byIan Lang
Succeeded byPeter Mandelson
Leader of the Opposition
In office
12 May 1994 – 21 July 1994
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byJohn Smith
Succeeded byTony Blair
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office
18 July 1992 – 21 July 1994
LeaderJohn Smith
Preceded byRoy Hattersley
Succeeded byJohn Prescott
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
In office
3 October 2008 – 5 June 2009
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byCaroline Flint
Succeeded byJohn Healey
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office
12 March 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
James Callaghan
Preceded byJoan Lestor
Succeeded byRhodes Boyson
Shadow cabinet portfolios
1995–1997Trade and Industry
1994–1995Health
1992–1994Commons Leader
1989–1992Chief Treasury Secretary
Member of Parliament
for Derby South
In office
9 June 1983 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byWalter Johnson
Succeeded byBaggy Shanker
Member of Parliament
for Lincoln
In office
10 October 1974 – 7 April 1979
Preceded byDick Taverne
Succeeded byKenneth Carlisle
Personal details
Born
Margaret Mary Jackson

(1943-01-15) 15 January 1943 (age 81)
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
Lionel Beckett
(m. 1979; died 2021)
Alma materManchester College of Science and Technology (BSc)
WebsiteOfficial website

Beckett was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. She went to the Notre Dame High School for Girls in Norwich, then to the University of Manchester Institute of Science of Technology.

She was the Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1974 to 1979. She was the MP for Derby South from 1983 to 2024. She was Leader of the Opposition from May 1994 to July 1994.

Other websites

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