Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
In 1998, during Mowlam's term as Northern Ireland Secretary, the historic Good Friday Agreement was signed. Her personal charisma and reputation for plain speaking made her one of the most popular "New Labour" politicians in the UK.
Marjorie Mowlam was born on 18 September 1949 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, the middle of three children of Frank William Mowlam, a Post Office worker, and Bettina Mary "Tina" Mowlam (née Rogers), a telephonist. She grew up in Coventry, where her father was assistant postmaster. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of Coventry in 1999.
Mowlam was the only one in her family to pass the 11-plus exam. She attended Chiswick Girls' grammar school in West London, then moved to Coundon Court School in Coventry, one of the first comprehensive schools in the country. While at school, Mowlam was elected head girl, became a supporter of the Labour Party, attended protests against the South African apartheid system and was an activist with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
After graduation from high school, Mowlam attended Trevelyan College, Durham University, reading sociology and anthropology. She joined the Labour Party in her first year at university. She became the Secretary of the Durham Union Society in 1969 and later vice-president of Durham Students' Union. After leaving Durham, Mowlam worked for then-MP (Labour) Tony Benn in London, and for American writer Alvin Toffler in New York, moving to the United States with her then-boyfriend and studying for a PhD degree in political science at the University of Iowa, with her doctoral research on the effects of the Swiss system of referendums.
Mowlam worked as a lecturer in the Political Science Department at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977 and at Florida State University in Tallahassee from 1977 to 1979. During her time in Tallahassee, her apartment was broken into. She suspected it was Ted Bundy, a serial killer and rapist who murdered at least thirty-five young women.
Mowlam returned to England in 1979 to take up an appointment at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. She also worked in adult education at Northern College, Barnsley, with underprivileged students. In 1981, she organised a series of alternative lectures to the Reith lectures given that year by Laurence Martin, the university's vice chancellor. These were published as Debate on Disarmament, with their proceeds going to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Mowlam married Jonathan Norton, a Labour-supporting City of London banker, in County Durham on 24 June 1995; Norton died on 3 February 2009. Mowlam had two step-children from Norton's first marriage to Geraldine Bedell.
Having failed to win selection for the 1983 general election, Mowlam worked as treasurer on Neil Kinnock's Labour leadership campaign. Mowlam was selected as Labour candidate for the safe seat of Redcar after James Tinn stood down. She took the seat in the 1987 general election, making her maiden speech in Parliament on 7 July 1987.
Mowlam became the Labour spokesperson on Northern Ireland later in 1987. Together with Shadow Chancellor John Smith, Mowlam was one of the architects of Labour's "Prawn Cocktail Offensive" dedicated to reassuring the UK's financial sector about Labour's financial rectitude.
Mowlam joined the Shadow cabinet when John Smith was elected leader of the Labour Party in 1992, holding the title of Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage. During this time, she antagonised both monarchists and republicans by calling for Buckingham Palace to be demolished and replaced by a "modern" palace built at public expense. Later, her willingness to speak her mind, often without regard to the consequences, was seen as her greatest strength by her supporters.
Following Smith's death in 1994, Mowlam, alongside Peter Kilfoyle, became a principal organiser of Tony Blair's campaign for the Labour leadership. After his victory, Blair appointed her as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She initially resisted being appointed to the position, preferring an economic portfolio, but, after accepting it, she threw her weight into the job.
In 1997, Mowlam was once again re-elected as MP for Redcar with an increased majority of 21,667. With the Labour Party general election win in May 1997, she was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She was the first woman to hold the post, succeeding Patrick Mayhew of the Conservative Party. A reflection of Mowlam's personal approach was the organisation of a walk about in Belfast city centre. She said that "it's the real life of people that needs changing."
[Mo Mowlam] was the catalyst that allowed politics to move forward which led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. She cut through conventions and made difficult decisions that gave momentum to political progress.
Mowlam "oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement" with her "approachability," "informal touch" and "personal interventions" helping to make the agreement possible. On 6 August 1997, she met with the Sinn Féin (SF) leader Gerry Adams to have "their first face to face discussions since the breakdown of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire in February 1996. She was successful in helping to restore the second IRA ceasefire, which eventually led to Sinn Féin being included in the multi-party peace talks. The talks led to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement achieved on 10 April 1998, bringing an end to conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.
On 4 January the Ulster Loyalist UDA/UFF prisoners in the Maze prison voted not to continue supporting the peace process. Led by Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party, their political representatives quickly flew to London requesting the Secretary of State meet with the prisoners. After consulting with her advisers and the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday 9 January 1998 she visited the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) prisoners represented politically by Gary McMichael. The visit was unprecedented for a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. "The Maze was a focal point of a troubled peace process today as Mo Mowlam arrived for a visit that had been variously described as mad or brave." The same day she also visited the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) H-block wings of the prison.
The message that I brought was very clear and simple. The only way that we're going to make progress towards a permanent peace in Northern Ireland is by taking a proactive stance and talking to reach the broadest possible agreement.
The visit was unprecedented and a political gamble, and was potentially dangerous when she met with prisoners, some of whom had been convicted of murder, face-to-face.