Profile

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has one the toughest tasks in Labour’s domestic programme: tackling the burgeoning welfare bill.

Next week, the government is expected to announce reforms to th…

As the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas is the bloc's top diplomat. So when EU leaders gathered in Brussels this week to thrash out a new defence plan for Ukraine, Kallas was in the…

He’s the former corporate lawyer, who has a pilot's licence and loves music, but has never before been a government minister.

Friedrich Merz was born in the west German town of Brilon in 1955 into a p…

His 14 year-stint at the top of European politics has earned him a distinguished record of domestic and international achievements.

Mark Rutte, born in The Hague in 1967, embarked on a career in busin…

Having helped mastermind Labour's renewal in the 1980s and 1990s, one of British politics best-known figures has just embarked on his latest role.

And, it's a long way from Hartlepool, in the post-ind…

Despite just winning a seventh consecutive presidential term, a look at Alexander Lukashenko’s early life reveals rather humbler origins.

Brought up by a single mother in a poor village in eastern Bel…

A mathematician and cyber defence expert, Poppy Gustafsson has been handed an integral role within government, as the prime minister attempts to grow the economy and attract international investment.

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She is the renowned scientist who studied environmental engineering, and went on to hold the role of mayor of Mexico City during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Late last year, Claudia Sheinbaum made furthe…

He's been described as the best connected man in the business world. Allan Leighton’s the arch-moderniser who's led some of the UK's most well-known companies.

His career started at Mars Confectioner…

He’s been described by his new bosses at the Football Association as, "one of the best coaches in the world".

Thomas Tuchel has also earned a reputation as a “control freak”, with “charming” yet “divi…

Oh! What’s occurrin'? Good question…

This week’s Profile, with Stephen Smith, is focusing in on a woman born in Bridgend in south Wales, who loved to participate in musical theatre as a child – and we…

Since it was privatised over a decade ago, there's been speculation around the future of the UK's troubled postal service, Royal Mail.

Now the government has approved its purchase by the Czech billion…

Through his passion for stop motion and modelling clay, we have come to love his silent (but wise) dog and well-meaning owner.

Wallace and Gromit are Nick Park’s most famous creations, but what more d…

From using a skateboard to baking sourdough, Tom Molnar leads an eclectic life.

Born in the United States, he earned a degree in Ecology at Dartmouth College, before going on to gain experience in cor…

She is the self-styled "proud Yorkshirewoman" at the centre of an extraordinary week at Westminster.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind a bid to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill in Eng…

From television commercials in the 1970s, to today’s toga-ripping, chariot-flipping sequel to Gladiator.

Sir Ridley Scott is one of Britain’s greatest film directors.

The grammar school boy, born in So…

Born in communist East Germany, to a German mother and Iranian father, Sahra Wagenknecht has long been the face of the country’s hard left.

But her own breakaway political movement, supporting a high…

She is one of the highest-ranking women in the Labour Party, now holding the position of home secretary.

Yvette Cooper, born in Inverness in 1969, grew up in Hampshire and went on to forge a career in…

From his hilltop glass mansion in ancient Tbilisi, he’s accused of cultivating Georgia’s shift from the west over the past decade.

And, with his political party’s recent victory in the parliamentary e…

The Liverpool-born comedian, known for his razor-sharp wit, has traded in his stand-up routines for some serious dance moves of late.

Chris McCausland is the first blind contestant to take part in the…