Personality of the Week - 6th to 12th June 2011

Chuka Umunna MP

Chuka Harrison Umunna (born 17 October 1978) is a British Labour Party politician and employment lawyer. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham since the 2010 general election. Chuka Umunna was educated in the state, voluntary aided and independent sectors: firstly, at the state Hitherfield Primary School near the centre of Streatham in south London; second, at the Voluntary Aided Christ Church C of E Primary School (Cotherstone Road) in the Brixton Hill area of Streatham; and third, at the independent secondary school St. Dunstan's College in Catford in south-east London.

He then went up to the University of Manchester in Manchester, where he studied English and French Law, obtaining a 2:1 degree, followed by the University of Burgundy in Dijon in France, and Nottingham Law School in Nottingham.

Umunna is of mixed English, Nigerian and Irish descent. He is the grandson of High Court Judge Sir Helenus Milmo, QC. Umunna is also the nephew of leading libel lawyer Patrick Milmo.

Umunna is a lawyer and a leading member of the centre-left pressure group, Compass, on whose management committee he sits, and often speaks on its behalf in the media. Umunna has written for the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardian, the New Statesman and is one of The Guardian's Comment is Free website contributors. He also occasionally appears on television and radio including on The Daily Politics on BBC2 and Question Time Extra on BBC News

24. He is the founder and former editor of the online political magazine, TMP, which is primarily aimed at left-leaning ethnic-minority Britons. Umunna is a member of the executive committee of the Black Socialist Society, an affiliate of the Labour Party.

Having graduated with a 2:1 degree in English and French Law from the University of Manchester, and a period of brief study at the University of Burgundy, followed by Nottingham Law School, Umunna started his legal career as a solicitor at the international law firm, Herbert Smith, in the City of London where Umunna mostly acted for large employers. In 2006, he moved to the central London law firm, Rochman Landau, where he mainly acts for employees. As an employment lawyer, Umunna often speaks and writes on employment issues.

He is trustee of the youth charity the Generation Next Foundation, and was formerly a trustee of the Anthony Bourne Foundation and the 409 Project. Umunna was quoted in the wake of the numerous killings of teenagers in Britain linked to gangs and violence in urban Britain. His comments that the problems of young people living in the inner cities are linked to the wealth divide and increasing consumerism were widely reported.

In November 2007, Umunna was identified as one of ten young, gifted and black people in British politics in The Independent on Sunday by Simon Woolley, director of Operation Black Vote. Woolley said Umunna "may end up as the UK's Barack Obama". In a February 2008 edition of the New Statesman, he was referred to in an article entitled "Is there a British Obama?".

In March 2008, Umunna was chosen by local Labour Party members as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Streatham constituency in London, following the announcement of the retirement of Keith Hill. He was also described in the New Statesman as "a Barack Obama for Britain". In January 2009, the New Statesman identified Umunna as one of Ten People Who Could Change the World. He was also one of the individuals selected for The Observer's January 2009 Hotlist, which highlighted people set to make a mark over the coming year.

In May 2009, he was chosen to be part of a panel of ten figures from across the political spectrum addressing the question: How do we restore the reputation of Parliament? by The Independent following the expenses crisis. In January 2010, he was named by The Independent as one the politicians making the best use of microblogging website Twitter as a communication tool.

Sources include Wikipedia.