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Lord Peter Mandelson, a former Labor cabinet minister and EU commissioner, will be Britain’s next ambassador to Washington, with an immediate mission to avoid a trade war with Donald Trump.
Mandelson is expected to take office next month, according to UK government officials, in a rare return to public life after years working in the private sector with the Global Counsel advisory firm he founded.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chose Mandelson to replace Dame Karen Pierce, who has served in Washington since 2020, and is known as “the Trump whisperer” because of her close contact with the future US president and his team.
Mandelson’s expertise in the field of trade – he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s last government and held the EU trade portfolio in Brussels – will be crucial in the new role.
This is a developing story.