Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951), is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007.
Born in Edinburgh, Falconer read law at Queens' College, Cambridge and then worked as a barrister in London. During his time as a barrister, he was a flatmate of Tony Blair. Although Blair went into politics, Falconer focused on his legal career and became a Queen's Counsel. After Blair was elected as Prime Minister, Falconer was created a life peer and made Solicitor General for England and Wales. Later, he served as Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Regeneration and Minister of State for Criminal Justice, Sentencing and Law Reform respectively.
Falconer became the Lord Chancellor and the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs in 2003 under Prime Minister Tony Blair, and would go on to become the first Secretary of State for Justice in a 2007 reorganisation and enlargement of the portfolio of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. He held this role for over a month until Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007. Falconer was named Shadow Justice Secretary under the acting leadership of Harriet Harman in 2015, and continued in this role after the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the party, until he resigned on 26 June 2016. He was appointed as Shadow Attorney General in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer on 6 April 2020.