David Miliband is President and Chief Executive of International Rescue Committee (IRC), the renowned New York-based non-profit humanitarian organisation founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein. He leads a team of over 12,000 people. The IRC helps people all over the world whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. It provides health care, infrastructure, learning and economic support to people in 40 countries, with many special programs designed for women and children. Every year, the IRC resettles thousands of refugees in 22 U.S. cities.
David was the UK’s Foreign Secretary from 2007-10. Aged 41, he became the youngest person in 30 years to hold the position. He was responsible for a global network of 16,000 diplomats in over 160 countries. He established a distinctive and respected voice for an internationalist Britain, from the war in Afghanistan to the Iranian nuclear programme to engagement with the world’s emerging powers. David’s advocacy of a global role for a strong European foreign policy led to him being widely supported for the new job of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs – a position he declined to continue his work in Britain.
David believes in leadership through ideas. He first came to prominence as the Policy Director for Tony Blair from 1994 to 2001, authoring the manifestos on which Labour was elected to office. As Minister for Schools from 2002 to 2004 he was regarded as a leader of reform. As Secretary of State for the Environment, he pioneered the world’s first legally binding emissions reductions Bill. As Minister for Communities and Local Government, he championed the renaissance of Britain’s great cities.
David set up "Movement for Change", which is training 10,000 community organisers in the UK to make changes in their own communities. He was also Vice Chairman of Sunderland Football Club until 2013. He regularly lectures at MIT, and co-participates in a series of seminars with Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University – debating the great geo-political issues. He is also Co-Chair of the Global Ocean Commission along with President Jose Maria Figueres of Costa Rica. The goal of the Commission is to identify the main threats to the high seas and to develop recommendations for addressing them.
After graduating with first class honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, David completed a Master’s Degree at MIT as a Kennedy Scholar. He stood down as a Member of Parliament for South Shields in 2013.
