The Rt. Honourable Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, joined The Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees in March 2024.
Elected as a Member of Parliament in 1983, Mr. Brown was an MP for 32 years before standing down in 2015. Mr. Brown served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010 and is widely credited with preventing a second Great Depression through his stewardship of the 2009 London G20 summit. As Prime Minister, Mr. Brown negotiated agreements at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark, and oversaw the UK’s commitment to NetZero as part of the Climate Change Act. Previously, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1997 to 2007, making him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history.
He is a passionate advocate for global action to ensure education for all. In his role as UN Special Envoy for Global Education, he works closely with key partners to help galvanize support for global education investment and the use of innovative financing to reach the UN’s global goals. He is Chair of the High-Level Steering Group for Education Cannot Wait, the fund for education in emergencies; and was Chair of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity. Since September 2021, he also serves as WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing.
He is married to Sarah Brown, the Chair of global children’s charity, Theirworld and Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education. The couple live in Fife, Scotland with their two sons.