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, January 2005]] Born in Hammersmith , London , Hilary Benn is a fourth generation MP, being the son of former Labour Cabinet Minister Tony Benn . His mother was the educationalist Caroline Benn . He attended Holland Park Comprehensive School and University Of Sussex where he graduated in Russian and East European Studies. Whilst at university he married fellow student Rosalind Retey in 1976 , who died tragically early in 1979 . Subsequently, he married Sally Christina Clark in 1982 . He has four children, Michael, James, Jonathan and Caroline and his London home is in Chiswick , West London. On leaving university, Benn became a Research Officer with the ASTMS and rose to become Head of Policy for MSF . In 1979 he was elected to the Ealing Borough Council where he was Deputy Leader from 1986 to 1990 . He was the Labour candidate for Ealing North in both the 1983 General Election and 1987 General Election . On both occasions he was defeated by the Conservative candidate Harry Greenway. When Labour won power in 1997 , Benn was appointed as Special Adviser to David Blunkett as Secretary Of State For Education And Employment . In 1999 he was quickly selected as Labour candidate for Leeds Central in a By-election following the death of the Parliamentary Under Secretary Of State at the Foreign Office Derek Fatchett . Benn won the by-election on June 10 , 1999 on a very small turnout by just over 2,000 votes. He made his Maiden Speech on June 23 , 1999. Following the 2001 General Election , he joined Tony Blair 's Government as Clare Short 's deputy as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department For International Development (DFID). In May 2002 , he moved to the Home Office , where he became Minister for Prisons and Probation, and in May 2003 he returned to the DFID under its new Secretary Of State , The Baroness Amos with the increased rank of Minister Of State . When Amos was appointed Leader of the House Of Lords in October 2003, he replaced her as Secretary of State. He became a Member Of The Privy Council in 2003. On November 2 , 2005 he was identified as a likely successor to the resigned David Blunkett as Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions , but was not in the end appointed. Some commentators have speculated that he was offered the job but declined it. He is often mentioned as a potential long-term successor to Gordon Brown , should the latter become Prime Minister and win the 2009 or 2010 General Election. EXTERNAL LINKS
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