Clare Short MP

Clare Short MP was Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to May 2003. DFID was a new Ministry created after the 1997 general election to promote policies for sustainable development and the elimination of poverty and it manages Britain’s programme of assistance to developing countries. She previously worked as a Civil Servant at the Home Office, as a Director of Youthaid and the Unemployment Unit and as a Director of AFFOR, a community based organisation promoting racial equality in Birmingham. She entered the House of Commons in 1983 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Ladywood. From 1996 until the 1997 General Election she was Opposition spokesperson on Overseas Development. She was Shadow Minister for Women from 1993 to 1995 and Shadow Secretary of State for Transport from 1995 to 1996. She has been Opposition spokesperson on Environment Protection, Social Security and Employment. A member of the Home Affairs Select Committee from 1983-85, she was Chair of the All-Party Group on Race Relations from 1985-1986, member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) from 1988-1997 and Chair of the NEC Women’s Committee from 1993-1996. Since 2003; she has been a member of Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy and member of International Advisory Board, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (GDAF). Since 2004; she has been an Associate of Oxford Research Group. In November 2004, Ms Short’s book An Honourable Deception? New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power was published as an attempt to explain why Tony Blair did what he did on Iraq so that the lessons can be learned and things put right.

Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.