Profile: Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander is tipped to be a high-flyer

The promotion of Scottish MP Douglas Alexander to the role of minister for e-commerce and competitiveness comes after an already rapid rise for the young solicitor.

Mr Alexander, aged 33, won his Paisley South seat in a by-election forced by the suicide of Gordon McMaster in the wake of Labour's election landslide of 1997.

Before that, he had been a speechwriter and researcher for Gordon Brown in the 1990s.

His new role - as one of three Scottish MPs who have secured new jobs at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - follows a key role helping to co-ordinate Labour's general election campaign.

A job as a government minister will be seen by many as a reward for that.

Brother and sister act

His role will share similarities with the job done by his sister, Wendy, as enterprise minister in the Scottish parliament.

And he too has played an important role in Scottish politics - not least when he ran the successful Labour campaign to win seats in the first elections to Holyrood.

But as the e-minister, Mr Alexander will face considerable challenges including inheriting UK Online - the government's ambitious plan to give the entire nation internet access.

Other issues that faced his predecessor, newly promoted DTI boss Patricia Hewitt, include working with a whole range of companies, like BT, to ensure speedy delivery of internet services to people's homes.

As a man who is seen as a member of the chancellor's inner-circle, Mr Alexander was one of the Brownite winners of the reshuffle, unlike former agriculture minister Nick Brown, who was demoted to become minister of work.

Seen as both clever and ambitious, it is likely that this position in government will by no means be his last.