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'''Margaret Beckett''', born 15 January 1943, is a British [[Labour Party]] politician and the current Foreign Secretary of the [[United Kingdom]]. She is the first woman to hold the office of Foreign Secretary, and between May and July 1994 was also the first woman to serve as leader of the [[Labour Party]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/05/05/britain.beckett/index.html UK has first woman foreign secretary], CNN, 5 May 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1383.asp Margaret Beckett - Profile] at the 10 Downing Street official website</ref>

'''Margaret Beckett''', born 15 January 1943, is a British [[Labour Party]] politician. She was the first woman to hold the office of Foreign Secretary, and between May and July 1994 was also the first woman to serve as leader of the [[Labour Party]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/05/05/britain.beckett/index.html UK has first woman foreign secretary], CNN, 5 May 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1383.asp Margaret Beckett - Profile] at the 10 Downing Street official website</ref>

==Biography==

==Biography==

After the Labour victory in the 1997 election, she held several posts in [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. Between 2001 and 2006, she was [[Secretary of State]] for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

After the Labour victory in the 1997 election, she held several posts in [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. Between 2001 and 2006, she was [[Secretary of State]] for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

During 2006, her department was blamed for a mismanagement of [[European Union]] farm subsidies which cost the British government £500 million in EU fines. A Parliamentary committee report published in March 2007 called on her to resign because of this failure.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/29/nfarms29.xml Beckett should be sacked over farm payments fiasco, say MPs], Daily Telegraph, 30 March 2007</ref>

During 2006, her department was blamed for a mismanagement of [[European Union]] farm subsidies which cost the British government £500 million in EU fines. A Parliamentary committee report published in March 2007 called on her to resign because of this failure.  

<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/29/nfarms29.xml Beckett should be sacked over farm payments fiasco, say MPs], Daily Telegraph, 30 March 2007</ref> She was replaced as Foreign Secretary by David Milliband that June.

==References==

==References==