Douglas Alexander
The Right Honourable Douglas Alexander MP Shadow Foreign Secretary Incumbent Assumed office 20 January 2011 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Yvette Cooper Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions In office 8 October 2010 – 20 January 2011 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Yvette Cooper Succeeded by Liam Byrne Secretary of State for International Development In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by Hilary Benn Succeeded by Andrew Mitchell Secretary of State for Scotland In office 6 May 2006 – 27 June 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Alistair Darling Succeeded by Des Browne Secretary of State for Transport In office 6 May 2006 – 27 June 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Alistair Darling Succeeded by Ruth Kelly Minister of State for Europe In office 5 May 2005 – 6 May 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Denis MacShane Succeeded by Geoff Hoon Minister of State for Trade In office 8 September 2004 – 5 May 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Mike O'Brien Succeeded by Ian Pearson Minister for the Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 13 June 2003 – 8 September 2004 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by The Lord Macdonald of Tradeston Succeeded by Alan Milburn Member of Parliament for Paisley and Renfrewshire South Paisley South (1997–2005) Incumbent Assumed office 6 November 1997 Preceded by Gordon McMaster Majority 16,614 (41.54%) Personal details Born (1967-10-26) 26 October 1967 (age 47) Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland Political party Labour Alma mater University of Edinburgh Religion Church of Scotland Website Official website Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Member of Parliament for Paisley and Renfrewshire South. Alexander was first elected to Parliament in the Paisley South by-election in 1997. In 2003, he became a minister, and held several positions including Minister of State for Europe from 2005 to 2006. At the 2005 election, Alexander's constituency was abolished, and he was subsequently elected to represent its successor seat of Paisley and Renfrewshire South. In 2006 he was appointed to the Cabinet by Tony Blair, becoming the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Transport. When Gordon Brown replaced Blair as Prime Minister in 2007, Alexander became the Secretary of State for International Development. In 2010, following the election of Ed Miliband as Labour Leader, Alexander was elected to the Shadow Cabinet and was made the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He held this position until a 2011 reshuffle, when he was appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary. In October 2013, he was appointed by Miliband as the party's Chair of General Election Strategy.