Tony Blair

Famous as	Prime Minister of Britain
Born on	06 May 1953
Born in	Edinburgh, Scotland
Nationality	United Kingdom
Works & Achievements	British Prime Minister from 1997-2007

Tony Blair is British politician and the leader of the Labor Party who went on to become the Prime Minister of the country in 1997 and served it until 2007. Before being elected to the post, he has also served as the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. His role as a leader of the Labor Party is mainly marked with the success; he exuded in hauling back the party from the verge of collapse after loosing three consecutive elections. Blair brought some radical changes in the policies of the party and led it to a landslide victory in the general elections 1997. Blair's steps and welfare measures fetched him and the party popularity that eventually helped him coming to power in the elections of 2001 and 2005. Blair was criticized for supporting the US invasion in Iraq and the anger evidently reflected in 2005 electoral verdict, reducing the percentage of votes for Labor Party. On 24 June, 2007 Blair formally handed over the leadership of the Labor Party to Gordon Brown who was then appointed as the Prime Minister of the Untied Kingdom on 27 June, 2007. Childhood Tony Blair was born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the second son of Leo and Hazel Blair. Tony Blair’s original name is Anthony Charles. Blair spent the first two years of his life in Willowbrae area of Edinburgh. Later the family moved to Australia, where his father Leo Blair was a lecturer in law at the University of Adelaide. Tony Blair has one elder brother, Sir William Blair and a younger sister, Sarah. In the late 1950s the family returned to Britain as Blair’s father was appointed a lecturer at Durham University. He spent the remainder of his childhood in Durham, England.   Education Blair attended Durham's Chorister School before moving to Fettes College, in Edinburgh. During his college day, Blair was once arrested, having being mistaken for a burglar as he climbed into his dormitory using a ladder, after being reaching late. After graduating from Fettes, Blair went on to the University of Oxford to study jurisprudence at St John's College.   Blair was fond of music and as a student, he played guitar and sang for a rock band called “Ugly Rumours”. Blair was influenced by fellow student Peter Thomson, who developed Blair’s interest towards left wing politics. It was during his days at Oxford when his mother died of cancer.   In 1976, following his graduation at Oxford, Blair enrolled as a pupil barrister at Lincoln Inn (one of four Inns of Court in London). The records suggest that Blair acted for employers or wealthier clients. In the case of Nethermere v. Gardiner, Blair acted for the employers that had refused holiday pay to employees at a trouser factory. He unsuccessfully defended the employers.   Marriage On 29 March 1980, Tony Blair married Cherie Booth, the daughter of noted English actor Tony Booth. Blair met Cherie at the chambers of Derry Irvine. They have four children, Euan Anthony, Nicholas John, Kathryn Hazel, and Leo George.   Political Career Having witnessed the power of the local miners, Tony Blair joined the Labor Party. His father Leo was also a member of the same. In 1983 Blair was elected to Parliament along with 208 other Labor Party MPs. Blair made his “first-ever-speech in the House of Commons on 6 July 1983.   After the stock market crash of October 1987, Blair castigated City traders as "incompetent" and "morally dubious", and criticized poor service for small investors at the London Stock Exchange. In 1988 Blair entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and the following year he became “Shadow Employment Secretary”.   In the run-up to the 1992 general election, Blair worked to modernize Labor’s image and was responsible for developing the controversial minimum wage policy. After the 1992 election, which brought the Tory John Major to power, Kinnock was replaced by John Smith. Smith appointed Blair “Shadow Home Secretary”. In 1993, while still Shadow Home Secretary; Blair attended the annual invitation-only Bilderberg conference. In 1994, following the death of John Smith of a cardiac arrest, Tony Blair was elected as leader of the Labor Party.   The Party, led by Tony Blair was disappointed with the four consecutive election defeats. Blair realized that the time had come to change its direction as it could not win over voters using the old ideas of the welfare state and its emphasis on national industry and union privileges. Towards this, Blair supported policies to decrease crime, lower taxes, improve trade, and give more power to local and regional governments. Blair also succeeded in convincing Labor Party members to rewrite Clause Four of the party charter. The clause called for the redistribution of wealth through "common ownership of the means of distribution, production, and exchange," which is basically a definition of socialism and communism.    Blair, at a conference of the Labor Party in 1996, stated that his three top priorities in the office would be "education, education and education". Blair’s campaign, aided by the new policies of the Labor Party won a landslide victory in the 1997 general election, ending 18 years of rule by the Conservative Party with the heaviest Conservative defeat since 1832. Tony Blair, at the age of 43 became the youngest Prime Minister since William Pitt the younger (1783).   Blair as Prime Minister Tony Blair became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 2 May 1997. He did not wait for long to implement the proposed “third way” program. The program included measures to reduce Labor's traditional reliance on state action to address social problems and to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland. In domestic government policy, Blair significantly increased public spending on health and education while also introducing controversial market-based reforms in these areas. Impressed with his reforms, people re-voted the Labor in 2001 and 2005. Blair became the only person to lead the Labor party to three consecutive general election victories.   Blair was also an outspoken proponent of the use of NATO forces to solve the Kosovo crisis. In 2001, from the start of the War on Terror, Blair strongly supported the United States foreign policy, notably by participating in the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.   Resignation The support to Coalition Forces and invasion of Iraq hurt Blair and Labor Party politically and led to a diminished margin of victory in the 2005 parliamentary elections. But, Blair nonetheless secured a record third consecutive term for a Labor government. Following pressure from within and outside the party, Blair, on 24 June formally handed over the leadership of the Labor Party to Gordon Brown at a special party conference in Manchester. Gordon Brown, later on 27 June 2007, succeeded Blair as Prime Minister.

Timeline:

1953: Tony Blair was born at Edinburgh 1976: Blair graduated from Oxford 1980: Blair married to Cherie Booth 1983: Blair’s election to Parliament, representing Labor Party 1983: Maiden speech in Parliament 1992: Blair promoted new policies and reforms of the Labor Party 1993: Blair appointed “Shadow Home Secretary” 1994: Election of Blair as Leader of the Labor Party 1997: Victory of Labor Party in the elections 1997: Blair became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 2001: Labor Party won for the second term with Blair as Prime Minister 2001: Blair supported US troops in fighting global terror 2004: Criticized for actions in Iraq 2005: People voted Labor Party for the third consecutive occasions to the power 2007: Resignation of Blair as Leader of the Labor Party and also as Prime Minister 2007: Succeeded by Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.