David Lammy, the son of Guyanese immigrants, was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 5 July 2024. The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office business, including:
- overarching responsibility for the departmental portfolio and oversight of the ministerial team
- Cabinet
- foreign policy and National Security Council
- strategy
- intelligence policy
- honors
He studied law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Law School and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994. He was elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000, and served 9 years (2001 to 2010) as a Minister in the Labour government and was made a Privy Councillor in 2008.
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David is also the author of ‘Out of the Ashes: Britain After The Riots’, a book about the reasons behind the 2011 riots and what has to be done to prevent them happening ever again.
Following his appointment, Lammy made this statement:
“It is the honour of my life to stand before you as Foreign Secretary.
A descendant of enslaved people.
A black, working class, man from Tottenham.
A community which has never produced a Foreign Secretary before.
This speaks to what a modern, multicultural Britain can be.
Proudly internationalist.
Determined to deliver for working people.
And committed to building a better future for us all.
Britain has enormous potential.
But the world faces huge challenges.
More countries engaged in conflict than at any time since World War II.
Rapidly changing technology.
And a climate emergency.
This government will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home.
What happens here in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is essential.
Diplomacy matters.
We will begin with a reset with Europe, on climate and with the global South.
And a gear-shift when it comes to delivering on European security, global security and British growth.
My story is a story of progress.
Progress won by all those who fought for a better future.
Together, let us fight for a better future once again.”
Change begins now.
