About Tony Blair

2010-09-09T16:16:00.004+05:30

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair alias Tony Blair was born on 6th May 1953 to Leo Blair and Hazel Blair in Edinburgh Scotland. Blair has two siblings - Sarah Blair and Bill Blair. Leo Blair was a university law lecturer and a barrister.By the time Tony Blair was about an year old, he and his family moved Adelide, Australia, where Leo Blair taught in a city college. They returned to Britain in the late 1950s. Tony spent a few more years at his maternal grandparents - Steppes, Glasgow. Later, he moved to Durham where his father was a lecturer at Durham University. Rest of his childhood was spent here.
Blair attended the Durham's Chorister School from 1961 to 1966 and then at the Fettes, an independent school in Edinburgh. Blair's teachers at Fettes recall him as a cheeky, rebellious figure; a talented actor who loved being the centre of attention and who cultivated a "cool" image among his peers. At the age of 17 he faced expulsion from the school. It was his girlfriend's father, Lord Mackenzie Stewart, an Old Fettesian who came to the rescue. Apparently, Mackenzie Stewart's daughter, Amanda, was the first girl to be admitted to Fettes. Imagine what a personality was Tony Blair who defeated the rest 440 to win her heart!!While at Fettes, Blair met Charlie Falconer, who would later become his Lord Chancellor. Blair later went on to study Law at Oxford.
Like many of his age, the teenager Tony Blair was obsessed with music and idolized Mick jagger. He also loved working behind the scenes as a manager or promoter. He spent a year in London managing student rock bands and also worked at the Bakers food Hall, Kensington. At Oxford he went on to enthrall people by his charismatic stage presence as a part of the rock band - Ugly Rumours.
As normal and carefree as he seemed, Tony was begining to show his thoughtful and serious side. He increasingly started talking about left wing politics and was becoming serious about his religious faith. In his firs year at Oxford, he met an Australian Priest - Peter Thompson whom Blair now credits with with awakening in him an interest in Christian socialism, and a desire for social change.
After Oxford, Tony became a trainee barrister under Derry Irvine who would later become his first Lord Chancellor. It was here that he met his future wife - Cherie Booth, also a trainee barrister. Cherie Blair was an active supporter of the Labour Party . It is said that Tony became an active member of the Labour Party in order to impress Cherie. They married in 1980.
Tony Blair now fully plunged into the Labour party politics. With help from his father-in-law - Tony Booth and Labour MP Pendry, Tony contested in a by election from Beaconsfield, a safe conservative seat. Though he never won that election, he managed to gain the attention of Labour leader Michael Foot, who was impressed with this enthusiastic and charismatic young man.
In 1983, Tony Blair contested in the general elections from Sedgefield Constituency, near Durham. He won the election. The early 1980s saw high unemployment rates, closure of many industrial units. At this juncture, this 30yr old, youngest Labour MP fought for his constituents' jobs and was also very vocal about the need for the Labour Party to redefine and modernise its goals to suit the growing middle class population.
Blair along with Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson set out to lay the foundations for the new Labour. They were determined to bring Labour back to power by abandoning its unpopular and anti development policies. They redefined the way Labour communicated with its people.
After the sad demise of their leader John Smith in 1994, Blair took over the responsibility after a supposed deal struck with Gordon Brown on power sharing. Blair then strived to reform the party and later led the party to a landslide victory in the 1997 general elections. Blair entered the Downing street on 2nd May 1997.
It is this stage of his political career that is most important as he led the labour party to victory for three consecutive terms. It is in this stage of his career in which he led the country to war thrice, the most for any British Prime Minister. IT is during this period that his actions changed the world's political history. Therefore, a need to discuss this 10 year period of his life in depth. I'll discuss all this in my next post.
Well if you can't wait till then.. go ahead hear from the Master himself.. A Journey: My Political Life, Autobiography of Tony Blair

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About A Journey: My Political Life

2010-09-05T10:51:00.015+05:30

Details of the Book
	Hardcover:	720 pages
	Publisher:	Knopf; 1St Edition edition (September 2, 2010)
	Language:	English
	Product Dimensions:		9.3 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
	Shipping Weight:		2.4 pounds
	Average Customer Review:			3.5 of 5
	Amazon Bestsellers Rank:			#13 in Books

A Journey: My Political Life is the autobiography of Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister of UK. Tony Blair is a well known politician whose emergence as a leader of the Labour Party in 1994 changed the face of British Politics. A natural leader as he is, reformed the Labour party and brought it back to power after 18years. He then led the party to victory for historic three consecutive terms.

A Journey is a first hand account of these eventful 10years, his association with Labour Party, his reofrmas and policies and more. He describes his role in the world history right from the death of Princess Diana to the war against terrorism. He analyses the past situations and his decisions that led the country to war thrice the most controversial being the Iraq war.

Coming from a leader as great as Tony Blair, the book has something for everyone. There are few politicians in our times who have given a new dimension to the world politics and foreign policies; for good or worse. Tony Blair is one of them. This is a book to learn more about leadership and conviction it takes to lead a country as great as Britain.Who better than Tony Blair himself can tell us about his political journey?

<<Click Here to BUY A Journey: My Political Life>>

A Journey: My Political Life - Autobiography of Tony Blair

About Tony Blair

About A Journey: My Political Life