The rapid political rise of Environment Secretary David Miliband began before he even became an MP.
David Miliband is considered a rising star of the Labour Party
He is the son of Ralph Miliband, the late eminent and influential left-wing academic. His brother Ed is also an MP.
While Mr Miliband, 41, claims he is not a runner for the Labour leader or deputy leader posts, he has been tipped by some, nonetheless, as a future leader.
He has been part of Tony Blair's inner circle since before Labour came to power in 1997.
Seen as one of the more intellectual figures in the government, he was also working for Mr Blair in his policy unit when he was leader of the opposition.
After his party's landslide victory, he became head of the 10 Downing Street policy unit and, as such, was a key figure in the prime minister's so-called "kitchen Cabinet".
But his ambitions lay in the House of Commons.
He was elected as MP in the safe seat of South Shields in 2001.
Somewhat controversially, Mr Miliband was "parachuted" in from outside to fight the general election that year.
It followed a surprise, eleventh-hour decision by sitting MP David Clark not to contest the seat.
Since then he has moved quickly through the government's ranks.
Within a year he became a middle-rank minister, after being handed the school standards brief, and in 2004 he was made Cabinet Office minister.
He joined the Cabinet in 2005 as local government minister, serving in Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's department.
Prior to working for Mr Blair, he spent time at the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research. He then became secretary of the Commission on Social Justice.
Educated at Haverstock Comprehensive, he went on to Oxford to study politics, philosophy and economics.
He also took an MSc in political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
He is listed as president of South Shields Football Club, but is nevertheless an Arsenal supporter.
Mr Miliband also outlines his activities in a weblog on his website, which he describes as an attempt to bridge "the growing and potentially dangerous gap" between politicians and the public.