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[[Image:tblair.jpg|right|thumb]]

'''Tony Blair''', full name '''Anthony Charles Lynton Blair''' (born May 6, 1953) has been the [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] since May 1997. He is a member of and is the current leader of the British [[Labour Party]], having been elected to the party leadership in 1994 following the death of his predecessor, John Smith. He stated publicly on May 10th 2007 that he will step down as UK Prime Minister on June 27th 2007. The current Chancellor, [[Gordon Brown]] is widely expected to be his sucessor [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6644717.stm]

'''Tony Blair''', full name '''Anthony Charles Lynton Blair''' (born May 6, 1953) is a former [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]]. The [[Labour Party]]'s longest-serving Prime Minister, he served from May 2, 1997 to June 27, 2007. Blair is also the only person to have led the Labour Party to three consecutive general election victories, and the only Labour Prime Minister to serve more than one full consecutive term.

While the Labour Party is a self-described "democratic [[socialist]] party"<ref>[http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php?id=labourdemocracy]</ref>, Blair has coined the phrase "[[New Labour]]" to distinguish his own pro-[[business]] policies from the more [[collectivist]] platform of his predecessors. He has also used the phrase "[[The Third Way]]". He has been criticized by some more left-wing members of the Labour Party for "selling out" to conservative thinking, particularly in his support for the United States in the Iraq War. On the other hand, Blair's policies have been decidedly liberal by American standards: they have included increases in taxation, increases in government spending (particularly on public schools and Britain's [[National Health Service|socialized healthcare system]]), the introduction of a minimum wage, and support for the [[homosexual agenda]].

 

While the Labour Party is a self-described "democratic [[socialist]] party"<ref>[http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php?id=labourdemocracy]</ref>, Blair coined the phrase "[[New Labour]]" to distinguish his own pro-[[business]] policies from the more [[collectivist]] platform of his predecessors. He also used the phrase "[[The Third Way]]". He was criticized by some more left-wing members of the Labour Party for "selling out" to conservative thinking, particularly in his support for the [[United States]] in the [[Iraq War]]. On the other hand, Blair's policies were decidedly [[liberal]] by American standards: they have included increases in taxation, increases in government spending (particularly on public schools and Britain's [[National Health Service|socialized healthcare system]]), the introduction of an increased minimum wage, and support for the [[homosexual agenda]].

== Personal ==

== Personal ==

[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4.asp] The son of a barrister and lecturer Leo Blair, Tony Blair was born in [[Edinburgh]], but spent most of his childhood in Durham. At the age of 14 he returned to Edinburgh to finish his education at Fettes College. Blair was known as a cheeky, rebellious, and argumentative schoolboy, and at 17 he was threatened with expulsion for persistently breaking school rules.<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6506365.stm BBC News | UK | UK Politics | The Tony Blair Story]</ref>. After leaving Fettes with three A levels he studied law at [[Oxford University]], and went on to become a barrister (Lincoln's Inn) himself, before entering politics. Blair married his wife, Cherie Booth QC a barrister and daughter of the actor Tony Booth, in 1980, and they have four children. Cherie hails from [[Liverpool]].

[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4.asp] The son of a barrister and lecturer Leo Blair, Tony Blair was born in [[Edinburgh]], but spent most of his childhood in Durham. At the age of 14 he returned to Edinburgh to finish his education at Fettes College. Blair was known as a cheeky, rebellious, and argumentative schoolboy, and at 17 he was threatened with expulsion for persistently breaking school rules.<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6506365.stm BBC News | UK | UK Politics | The Tony Blair Story]</ref>. After leaving Fettes with three A levels he studied law at [[Oxford University]], and went on to become a barrister (Lincoln's Inn) himself, before entering politics. Blair married his wife, Cherie Booth QC a barrister and daughter of the actor Tony Booth, in 1980, and they have four children. Cherie hails from [[Liverpool]].

As well as being leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, Tony Blair is also the [[MP]] for Sedgefield, a constituency in [[County Durham]] in North East England. He is a competent guitar player and at university was a member of a rock band called Ugly Rumours. His favourite music includes [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Free (band)|Free]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[U2]], [[Coldplay]], [[The Foo Fighters]], and [[Simply Red]].<ref name="bbc" />

Blair is a competent guitar player and at university was a member of a rock band called Ugly Rumours. His favourite music includes [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Free (band)|Free]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[U2]], [[Coldplay]], [[The Foo Fighters]], and [[Simply Red]].<ref name="bbc" />

While Blair rarely discusses his religious faith in public, he is a convinced Christian, a fact for which he is often criticised or mocked by British commentators. His wife, Cherie, is a Catholic; he has attended Catholic Masses, and it is thought that he may himself be sympathetic to Catholicism, though he is a member of the [[Church of England]].

While Blair rarely discusses his religious faith in public, he is a convinced Christian, a fact for which he is often criticised or mocked by British commentators. His wife, Cherie, is a Catholic; he has attended Catholic Masses, and it is thought that he may himself be sympathetic to Catholicism, though he is a member of the [[Church of England]].