Harriet Harman KC
Biography
Harriet Harman was appointed as the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls on 8 March 2025.
Harriet was a Member of Parliament for Peckham for over 40 years (1982 to 2024). During this time, Harriet held several senior government positions, including:
- Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition
- Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
- Secretary of State for Equalities
- Minister for Women
- Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal
- Minister for Justice
- Solicitor General
- Secretary of State for Social Security
Harriet became a Member of the House of Lords in August 2024.
Throughout her career, Harriet has been a vocal advocate for women and girls, including on issues such as women’s political representation, maternity rights, and tackling violence against women and girls.
Harriet is a qualified solicitor and holds a degree in Politics from York University.
UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
The UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls will play an important role, alongside the Foreign Secretary and Minister for International Development, for progressing the UK’s foreign policy and international development objectives on women and girls.
The Special Envoy will:
- consolidate a powerful and diverse network of women leaders committed to addressing major global challenges, including the rollback of women’s and girls’ rights and stalled progress on global gender and education goals
- use domestic and international engagement to advocate for greater representation of women in public life, share insights from the UK’s own experience, learn from others, and strengthen the network of women already operating in political systems
- use this network to amplify the UK’s leadership and grow and diversify the coalition of like-minded and middle-ground partners to advance women’s and girls’ rights, empowerment, safety, education, and equal opportunities
- undertake visits, attend international events and hold high-level bilateral meetings with international partners
The UK Special Envoy reports to the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Development.