Anthony Charles Lynton Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 6 May 1953. After attending a chorister school up until 1966, Blair was educated at Fettes College, a private boarding school in Edinburgh.
After leaving Fettes, Blair spent a years as a music promoter before studying at the University of Oxford where he studied jurisprudence at St. John's College. He graduated in 1976 with a second class honours degree and enrolled as a pupil barrister at the Chambers, where he met his future wife, Cherie Booth. He married Booth on 29 March 1980.
Blair's Early Political Career
He joined the Labour Party shortly after graduating from university and during the early 1980s, Blair was involved in politics in Hackney South and Shoreditch. In 1983, won the Labour Party a seat in the newly created Sedgefield constituency.
Once he gained this seat, Blair's ascent within the Labour Party very fast. In 1984, he received his first "front-bench" position as assistant Treasury Spokesman.
After the 1987 general election, Blair was promoted to the Shadow Trade and Industry team as a spokesman. The same year, he stood for election to the Shadow Cabinet receiving 77 votes. In 1988, Blair became part of the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy. In 1989, Blair became Shadow Employment Secretary.
When Neil Kinnock resigned from party following the Labour Party's fourth consecutive defeat in the 1992 general election, Blair became became Shadow Home Secretary under the party's leader John Smith. Around this time, critics accused the Labour Party of being weak on crime, and Blair worked hard to change this.
Leadership of the Labour Party
In 1994, John Smith died suddenly, and Blair defeated Margaret Beckett and John Prescott in the leadership election. Blair revised the Labour Party's manifesto to modernise it and coined the term "New Labour", to try to distinguish it from its past problems and defeats.
Blair's New Labour won the 1997 general election on 2 May, aided by the severe unpopularity of John Major's Conservative government which was in power at the time.
Blair as Prime Minister
Blair is credited with moving the Labour Party more towards the centre of British politics with his pro-market policies.
He is also widely regarded as having played a major peace process in Northern Ireland by helping with the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.
The main issue that led to the downfall of Tony Blair was the Iraq War. Blair strongly supported the US foreign policy and backed the United States up in both the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and subsequently Iraq in 2003. As a result of this, he faced aggressive criticism from the media, the public and also the Labour Party itself.
On 7 September 2006, Blair publicly announced that he would step down as leader of the Labour Party by September 2007. On 27 June 2007, he handed his letter of resignation to the Queen and his successor, Gordon Brown, took office that very afternoon.
Blair After the Labour Party
On 27 June 2007, the day that he resigned, Blair was made Middle East Envoy for the United Nations, the EU, the US and Russia.
In early 2008, investment bank JPMorgan Chase announced that Blair would join them as a senior advisor. During 2008, he made an estimated £7 million.
During the academic year 2008-09, Blair taught a course at Yale University as a distinguished fellow.
 |
