Catherine Ashton, or The Right Honourable, The Baroness Ashton of Upholland, LG GCMG PC was created a life peer by Tony Blair in 1999. In the Blair government she was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Skills, and in the Ministry of Justice. During Gordon Brown's government she became Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council, the British European Commissioner and the Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission. She was appointed a Privy Councillor in May 2006. She served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and was the First Vice President of the European Commission between 2009 and 2014. In 2013, she worked as a negotiator between Serbia and Kosovo, bringing them to an agreement, and she worked alongside John Kerry in the talks with Iran which led to the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. In 2023, she released her memoir titled 'And Then What? Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy', about her time as a diplomat... Oh also, she's a big Doctor Who fan. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Ashton Encyclopaedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-Ashton-Baroness-Ashton-of-Upholland 'And Then What?: Inside Stories of 21st-Century Diplomacy' publisher's site: https://eandtbooks.com/books/and-then-what/ The Cluster F Theory Podcast is edited by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cluster-f-theory-podcast/id1736982916 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5V4bBn54hiImeoyDNmTcIr?si=729367e48b0940d9 Thanks for reading The Cluster F Theory Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support the podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theclusterftheory.substack.com