 On 25 July 2002 , it was announced that Miliband would take a 12 @-@ month unpaid sabbatical from HM Treasury to be a visiting scholar at the Center for European Studies of Harvard University for two semesters . He spent his time at Harvard teaching economics , and stayed there after September 2003 for an additional semester teaching a course titled " What 's Left ? The Politics of Social Justice " . During this time , he was granted " access " to Senator John Kerry and reported to Brown on the Presidential hopeful 's progress . After Miliband returned to the UK in January 2004 Gordon Brown appointed him Chairman of HM Treasury 's Council of Economic Advisers as a replacement for Ed Balls , with specific responsibility for directing the UK 's long @-@ term economic planning . 
