Douglas Alexander, Scottish lawyer and politician, former Minister of State for Europe
Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a former Labour Party in Scotland politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as Scottish Secretary, Transport Secretary and International Development Secretary in the Cabinet under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He subsequently served in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Alexander was first elected to Parliament in the Paisley South by-election in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed by Tony Blair as Minister of State for e-Commerce and Competitiveness in the Department of Trade and Industry. He was Minister of State for the Cabinet Office from 2002 to 2003. In 2003, he was promoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 2004, he was appointed Minister of State for Trade, serving jointly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and in the Department of Trade and Industry.
At the 2005 general election, the Paisley South constituency was abolished and Alexander was elected to represent its successor seat of Paisley and Renfrewshire South. Following the election, Alexander was appointed Minister of State for Europe. During this period, Alexander attended Cabinet and was made a member of the Privy Council. In 2006, Alexander was appointed to serve jointly as both Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Transport. In 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, he appointed Alexander as Secretary of State for International Development.
After Labour lost the 2010 general election Alexander co-chaired David Miliband’s leadership campaign. When Ed Miliband became the party's 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. In 2015, his was among the 40 seats lost by Labour in Scotland.