Des Browne, more formally known as Lord Browne of Ladyton, is a lawyer and a British Labour Party politician. From 1997 until 2010, he was a Member of Parliament. Among other ministerial offices, he served as the United Kingdom’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2005 to 2006, Secretary of State for Defence from 2006 to 2008, and, at the same time, as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2007 to 2008. A member of the House of Lords since 2010, he is also Vice Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, an NGO that works globally to reduce the threats posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and disruption. Lord Browne is a co-founder and the Chair of the Executive Board of the European Leadership Network.