A Short Biography Of Tony Blair
On the 6th May 1953 Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (Tony Blair) was born in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. His father was studying for law degree whilst also working as a junior tax inspector. After completing his course the family moved to Australia for a few years where his father taught law in the University of Adelaide.
The Blair family returned to the United Kingdom before the end of the decade and Tony’s father took a post lecturing at Durham University. Until 1966 Tony Blair was studying at Chorister School and then at Fettes College in Edinburgh.
During his time at Fettes Tony Blair, developed interest in playing the guitar and, treading a well trodden path, Tony moved to London in search of success and a year later he decided to read jurisprudence at Oxford University.
While he was at St John’s College he developed his interest in left wing politics. Having passed his BA with Second Class Honours Blair became a pupil barrister and, in 1975, joined The Labour Party. He met his future wife, Cherie Booth, at 11 King’s Bench Walk Chambers.
From 1975 to the 1980s Blair gradually pushed his way up the Labour Party’s political ladder. In 1983 he was selected to fight for the seat for Sedgefield which was not too far from where he had spent much of his childhood (Durham). Winning the seat comfortably Tony Blair first spoke in the House of Commons on 6 July of that year.
After taking almost 8 years to become an elected MP, Blair was, by 1984, the Opposition Spokesperson on Treasury and Economic Affairs. Sadly, in 1994, the sudden death of party leader, John Smith rocked the party to it’s foundations and following an internal election, Tony Blair became Leader of the Labour Party.
Under Blair the Labour Party underwent dramatic change and the changing of “Clause IV”, in April 1995, changed the fundamental aims and values of the party, which became known as “New Labour”.
On the 2nd of May 1997 Tony Blair’s New Labour won the general election and he became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The win was a landslide victory and such was the support of the nation that he managed to win the next two general elections and he became the only ever person to lead the party to 3 consecutive wins.
During Tony Blair’s premiership the United Kingdom saw some dramatic changes, Scotland was allowed it’s own devolved parliament and Wales a Welsh assembly. Though Blair would like his time to be remembered most for the successes in the troubles of Northern Ireland many agree that it will be the Iraq war and the surrounding controversy that will be most prominent in the history books.
On the 27th of June 2007 Tony Blair handed his resignation (as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) to the Queen, he had handed the leadership of the Labour Party to Gordon Brown on the 24th of the month. He was immediately appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East for the United Nations etc. Following lucrative appointments in the financial sector, lectures and the likes Blair saw his income rocket but remained heavily involved in charitable work.
