Short has been a driving force in pushing for third world debt redemption and her department's budget has risen since 1997. She has also set testing targets for reducing global poverty.

But the often outspoken Short has also found herself in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Memorable comments on spin doctors, the inhabitants of the disaster-hit Caribbean island of Montserrat demanding "golden elephants", as well as accusations that fellow cabinet members have leaked comments that she made have all found their way into the public domain, occasionally overshadowing her work.