Dame Margaret Mary Beckett, DBE MP is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983. She was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith 1992 to 1994, and briefly served as Leader of the Labour Party following Smith's sudden death. She later served in the Cabinet under Prime Minister Tony Blair in a number of roles, most notably becoming Britain's first ever female Foreign Secretary in 2006. Beckett was first elected to Parliament in 1974 for Lincoln and held junior positions in the governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. She lost her seat in 1979, but returned to the House of Commons in 1983 this time representing Derby South. She was appointed to Neil Kinnock's Shadow Cabinet shortly afterwards, ultimately being elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1992, becoming the first woman ever to hold that role. Following the premature death of John Smith in 1994, she also technically became the first woman to lead the Labour Party, although Tony Blair won the election to replace Smith shortly afterwards to assume the substantive leadership. 

January 15th, 1943 in Ashton-under-Lyne (Age 81)