The network for international development

News and issues

New ministerial team announced

27 May 2010

Andrew Mitchell MP is the new Secretary of State for International Development while Alan Duncan MP is Minister of State in DFID and Stephen O'Brien is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. Read their biographies.

They each bring a range of skills and experience relevant to the posts.

Andrew Mitchell was Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2005 to 2010 and led his Party's campaign to tackle global poverty. Upon his appointment as Secretary of State for International Development, he said:

"Tackling deprivation around the world is a moral imperative and firmly in Britain's national interest. I'm proud of the commitments that our new government has made on international development. Our bargain with taxpayers is this: in return for contributing your hard-earned money to helping the world's poorest people, it is our duty to spend every penny of aid effectively. My top priority will be to secure maximum value for money in aid through greater transparency, rigorous independent evaluation and an unremitting focus on results.

Read the full press release

Alan Duncan was Shadow Secretary for International Development from 2004 to 2005. He is personally committed to DFID's central goal of combating global poverty and has long been an advocate of well-managed, effectively-spent aid.

In 2001, Stephen O'Brien was appointed an Associate of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body and was Chairman of the All Party Group on Malaria, also of Tanzania and Vice Chairman of the All Party Aid Trade & Debt Group. He was Chairman of the Malaria Consortium, a Bond member, between 2006 and taking up his Government posting.

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