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Tony Blair Prime Minister United Kingdom |
 The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, was born on 6 May 1953. He entered parliament in June 1983 as MP for Sedgefield. He was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 21 July 1994 and Prime Minister on 1 May 1997 with a majority of 179 seats in the House of Commons. In Opposition he was promoted to the Treasury front bench team in 1985 and in 1987 he became spokesman on Trade and Industry with special responsibility for Consumer Affairs and the City. He was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in 1988 and was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Energy. In the following year he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Employment and in 1992 Shadow Home Secretary. Before entering parliament he read Law at St John's College, Oxford and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1976, and practised at a barrister until 1983, specialising in employment and industrial law. He is married to Cherie Booth, who is a barrister and Queen's Counsel. They have two sons, Euan (13), Nicky (11), and a daughter Kathryn (9).
Source: UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, June 1997 |
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