Browne, Des (1952– )

UK Labour Party politician, defence secretary from 2006 and (concurrently) Scottish secretary from 2007. He rose swiftly through Labour's ranks after becoming a member of Parliament in 1997. After the 2001 general election he became a parliamentary secretary to the Northern Ireland Office. He was made work and pensions' minister in 2003 and immigration minister in 2004. He was promoted to the cabinet by Prime Minister Tony Blair after the 2005 general election as chief secretary to the Treasury and became defence secretary in May 2006, with responsibility for British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. An ally of Gordon Brown, he was given the additional portfolio of Scottish secretary when Brown became prime minister in June 2007.

Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, he studied law at Glasgow University and then worked as a solicitor from 1976, before being called to the Scottish Bar in 1993. He was elected to Parliament in 1997, representing the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency, and became parliamentary private secretary to the Scottish secretary, Donald Dewar.