Profile Folgen

His 14 year-stint at the top of European politics has earned him a distinguished record of domestic and international achievements.Mark Rutte, born in The Hague in 1967, embarked on a career in business after leaving university and held several positions at Unilever.His career in Dutch politics started in 2002, and four years later – as leader of the VVD party – he became prime minister.During his tenure, he steered the Netherlands through times of significant national and global upheaval. From economic crisis, to the coronavirus pandemic.And now, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 14th Secretary General, he faces his next challenge – leading Europe’s response to recent Russia-US talks over Ukraine.Mark Coles takes a closer look at Mark Rutte.Production Team Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Sally Abrahams, Mantej Deol, Chloe Scannapieco Editor: Ben Mundy Sound: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinator: Maria OgundeleCredits Joint press conference by NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte with the President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, 20 Feb. 2025 Mark Rutte cycles away from his office, on his last day as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, tv47 Yes Minister, BBC TV, Comedy Greats

Having helped mastermind Labour's renewal in the 1980s and 1990s, one of British politics best-known figures has just embarked on his latest role.And, it's a long way from Hartlepool, in the post-industrial North-East of England, where he first became an MP. Born in 1953, Peter Mandelson started on the road to party politics as a researcher at the Trades Union Congress. After a stint as a TV producer, he left to take up the role of Labour's director of communications, but his real ambition was a place in Parliament.Even his sternest critics accept he is a slick political operator and a good networker, but he’s a controversial figure – with a big challenge ahead. Stephen Smith takes a closer look at the UK’s new ambassador to the US, and the man once dubbed the "Prince of Darkness".Production Team Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Sally Abrahams, Mantej Deol, Marianna Brain, Chloe Scannapieco Editor: Ben Mundy Sound: James Beard Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Jack YoungCredits London Weekend Television station ident 1970s Jon Culshaw, Imposter Syndrome UK tour

Despite just winning a seventh consecutive presidential term, a look at Alexander Lukashenko’s early life reveals rather humbler origins.Brought up by a single mother in a poor village in eastern Belarus, he first made his mark as the manager of a farm in the late 1980s.After moving into politics at the end of that decade, he quickly established his reputation as a man with authoritarian instincts – and by 1994, he was elected president of Belarus for the first time.Ever since, he has managed a balancing act between Russia, his closest economic and political partner, and overtures to the West. But, the country’s faced sanctions following its role in the invasion of Ukraine, while many Western governments have labelled this latest election as a sham.Stephen Smith takes a closer look at the man often referred to as Europe's last dictator.Production Team Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Sally Abrahams, Charlotte McDonald and Nathan Gower Editor: Ben Mundy Sound: James Beard Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Jack Young Credits Animal Farm by George Orwell, recording produced by Ciaran Bermingham Narrated by Roger Ringrose