Following the 1992 election became Shadow Home Secretary
Political Career : Joined Labour Party, 1975; Member of Parliament for Sedgefield, 1983-85; Spokesman on trade and industry, 1987-88; Shadow secretary of state for energy, 1988-89; Shadow secretary of state for employment, 1989-92; Shadow home secretary, member of National Executive Committee of Labour Party, 1992-94; Labour Party leader, 1994-; British Prime Minister, 1997-
Office: John Smith House, Walworth Road, LONDON SE17 1JT
Tony Blair Detailed Biography
Tony Blair is the current Prime Minister of United Kingdom. Blair began his political career in 1983, when he was elected to the British Parliament as a member of the Labor Party. He quickly advanced to the party's front ranks during the Conservative administration of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, when Labor was in the opposition. He won the favor of Labor leaders, who believed Blair's moderate positions would revive popular support for the party. From 1984 to 1987 Blair was opposition spokesman on treasury and economic affairs. He then moved to various posts in the Departments of Trade and Industry, Energy, and Employment. In 1992 Blair was promoted again, taking charge of domestic issues in the Labor Party's counterpart to the governing Conservative cabinet. Blair was chosen to lead the Labor Party following the death of John Smith in 1994. Tony Blair, at 41 years old, was Labor's youngest leader ever. He soon established a reputation as a determined reformer and firm leader, confronting established factions and contentious policy issues within the party. Almost immediately, Tony Blair began working to make the party more mainstream, de-emphasizing its traditional ties to labor and trade unions in an effort to broaden the party's membership. In May of 1997, Tony Blair, became the youngest British Prime Minister in almost 200 years. After taking office, Blair vowed to honor his campaign pledge to abide by national spending limits and programs established by the preceding Conservative administration. At the same time, he launched ambitious new programs aimed at building better relations with the European Union decentralizing the national government, and reforming Britain's welfare state. In his first year in office Blair fulfilled his campaign promise to hold referendums in Scotland and Wales to decentralize powers from the British Parliament to a Scottish parliament and a Welsh assembly. In addition, Blair worked to stimulate the faltering peace talks in Northern Ireland. Buoyed by the strong performance of the British economy, Blair called general elections in June 2001. Blair led the Labor Party to its second consecutive landslide victory and secured a second term as Prime Minister.
