Jack Straw
The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2010 Leader Harriet Harman Preceded by William Hague (Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet) Succeeded by Harriet Harman Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Shadow Lord Chancellor In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2010 Leader Harriet Harman Ed Miliband Preceded by Dominic Grieve Succeeded by Sadiq Khan Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain Secretary of State for Justice In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by The Lord Falconer of Thoroton Succeeded by Kenneth Clarke Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal In office 5 May 2006 – 27 June 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair Deputy Nigel Griffiths Paddy Tipping Preceded by Geoff Hoon Succeeded by Harriet Harman Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs In office 8 June 2001 – 5 May 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Robin Cook Succeeded by Margaret Beckett Home Secretary In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Michael Howard Succeeded by David Blunkett Shadow Home Secretary In office 20 October 1994 – 2 May 1997 Leader Tony Blair Preceded by Tony Blair Succeeded by Michael Howard Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment In office 24 July 1992 – 20 October 1994 Leader John Smith Preceded by Bryan Gould Succeeded by Frank Dobson Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science In office 13 July 1987 – 18 July 1992 Leader Neil Kinnock Preceded by Giles Radice Succeeded by Ann Taylor (Education) Member of Parliament for Blackburn Incumbent Assumed office 3 May 1979 Preceded by Barbara Castle Majority 9,856 (21.7%) Personal details Born John Whitaker Straw (1946-08-03) 3 August 1946 (age 68) Buckhurst Hill, Essex, United Kingdom Political party Labour Spouse(s) Anthea Weston (1968–1977; divorced) Alice Perkins (1978–present) Children Daughter (deceased), son, daughter Alma mater University of Leeds Inns of Court Religion Anglicanism John Whitaker "Jack" Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn since 1979. Straw served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001 and Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 under Blair. From 2007 to 2010 he served as Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Justice throughout Brown's Premiership. Straw is one of only three individuals to have served in Cabinet continuously under the Labour government from 1997 to 2010. After the Labour Party lost power in May 2010, Straw briefly served as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Justice Secretary, with the intention to stand down from the frontbench after the subsequent 2010 Labour Shadow Cabinet election.