English politician Peter Mandelson was BOTD in 1953. Born in London to a middle-class Jewish family, he studied at Oxford University, where he flirted briefly with Communism. After graduation, he joined the Labour Party, and was eventually appointed the Party’s Director of Communications. He developed an infamous reputation as a political spin doctor, dubbed “the Prince of Darkness” for his ruthlessness and media savvy, later inspiring the character of fictional spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in TV comedy The Thick of It. In 1992, he was elected as a Member of Parliament. A close ally and advisor to Labour leader Tony Blair, he is credited as one of the architects of New Labour, helping steer Blair to victory in the 1997 general election. Initially appointed as a Minister without Portfolio, he later became Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He was forced to resign in 1998 after failing to declare a loan from a colleague. In 1999, he was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, resigning again in 2001 following accusations of attempting to influence a passport application. Re-elected to his seat in 2001, he stood down in 2004 to become Britain’s European Commissioner for trade. In 2008, he became a life peer and joined the House of Lords, while continuing to hold the Cabinet post of Business Secretary. After Labour’s electoral defeat in 2010, he moved into consultancy, and was famously dismissive of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. In 2025, he was appointed by Kier Starmer’s Labour government as the UK’s ambassador to the United States, dismissed months later for his support of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Discreetly gay since forever, Mandelson was outed by tabloid News of the World in 1987, and was frequently lampooned (including being nicknamed “Mandy”). In 1998, conservative journalist Matthew Parris publicly revealed Mandelson’s relationship with Brazilian translator Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Despite minimal discussion of his sexuality or known involvement in LGBTQ causes, Mandelson described himself in his 2010 memoir as “a role model” for gay people, perhaps his greatest feat of spin doctoring. He was played by Mark Gatiss in the 2015 TV drama series Coalition.