Ed and David Miliband are not the first brothers to be British Foreign Secretary

Ed and David Miliband are not the first brothers to be British Foreign Secretary

The Marquess Wellesley and his younger brother the Duke of Wellington both were, the latter very briefly. He held all principal ministerial offices concurrently for three weeks in November–December 1834 while the country waited for Sir Robert Peel to return from Italy, where he was on holiday, and then remained Foreign Secretary under Peel till the government collapsed in April 1835.

Sir Austen Chamberlain and his half brother Neville were both Chancellor of the Exchequer and both leaders of the Conservative and Unionist Party (both were Liberal Unionists originally).

Edward and Oliver Stanley were both First Lord of the Admiralty.

Ed Miliband in his first remarks overseas as Foreign Secretary at ASEAN condemned Russia's "aggression" but not the USA's or Israel's, and spoke vaguely of the "suffering" of the Palestinians. 

I suppose Great Britain is not a free agent but has to toe the American line. How different things were when Wellington or Wellesley were Foreign Secretary.