UK Government · CC BY 4.0

The son of Polish Jewish immigrants who fled Nazi-occupied Europe, he rose through Labour Party politics to lead the party as Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. He served twice as Britain's energy secretary, first under Gordon Brown from 2008, then again from 2024, pushing climate policy through periods when it was politically unfashionable to do so, before becoming Foreign Secretary in 2026. He has represented Doncaster North in Parliament since 2005.