Lord Boateng has been a Labour Member of the House of Lords since 2010. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for Brent South between 1987 and 2005 and became the UK’s first Black Cabinet Minister in 2002 when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He also held positions including Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health and the Home Office, Minister for Criminal Policy, Minister for Young People, Deputy Home Secretary, and Financial Secretary. Lord Boateng was Britain’s High Commissioner to South Africa from 2005 to 2009 and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative to the Great Lakes Region.
He has served on numerous charitable and commercial Boards in Africa, the United States, and Europe, with a focus on health nutrition and agriculture including Food for the Hungry, the African Enterprise Challenge Fund, and the Public Health Advisory Board of Gilead Sciences. He currently serves on the Board of the Ghana International Bank, is Chair of Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and the Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice and is Co-Chair of the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission. He also sits on the Boards of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Ballet Rambert and is Chancellor of the University of Greenwich.