Rt Hon Tony Blair MP

The Prime Minister

Photograph copyright © Parliamentary Recording Unit

Tony Blair was born on 6 May 1953, in Edinburgh, to Leo and Hazel Blair.

He attended Durham Choristors School and Fettes College, Edinburgh, before reading Law at St John's College, Oxford.

He joined the Labour Party in 1975.

He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1976 and practised as a barrister until 1983, specialising in employment and industrial law.

In June 1983 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield. In 1985, he was promoted to the Opposition front bench as a spokesperson on Treasury Affairs and in 1987 he was made spokesperson on Trade and Industry with special responsibility for Consumer Affairs and the City.

He was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in October 1988 and became Shadow Secretary of State for Energy, leading Labour's opposition to electricity privatisation. In the following year he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Employment. In this post he argued for a positive framework of trade union rights and put full emplyment at centre stage.

Following the General Election in 1992 he was appointed Shadow Home Secretary. He successfully wrested the issue of law and order from the Conservatives and established the Labour Party as the party with the most effective policies for tackling crime.

He was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in September 1992.

He was elected leader of the Labour Party on 21 July 1994.

In his speech to the Labour Party Conference in October 1994, he announced a review of the party constitution.

He is married to Cherie Booth, who is a barrister. They have two sons, Euan (Date of Birth 19.1.84), Nicky (6.12.85) and a daughter Kathryn (2.3.88).