Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown. He is a British politician, professor and former journalist born in Scotland , who after succeeding Anthony (Tony) Blair as leader of the Labor Party became Prime Minister of his country, serving a term from 2007 to 2010 .

Summary

[ disguise ]

• 1 Biography
• 2 Political career
  • 1 Minister of Finance (1997-2007)
    • 1.1 Blair’s successor
  • 2 Prime Minister (2007-2010)
    • 2.1 Security policy
    • 2.2 Power output
  • 3 Sources
  • 4 References

Biography

Born in Glasgow , Scotland , Brown grew up and trained professionally in the Scottish region. As a young man, during a rugby match he became blind in one eye due to retinal detachment . He studied a degree in History at the University of Edinburgh , there after graduating he had his first contacts with Labor thought, and years later he would become rector of said university. Brown taught at various Scottish universities before working as a journalist on Scottish television until 1983 , when he dedicated himself fully to politics, entering the House of Commons of the British Parliament as a member.

Political career

After entering the British Parliament as a member of the Labor Party, Brown began a dizzying and ascending career. Led by the then party leader, John Smith, he was his party’s representative on issues such as Commerce , Industry and Finance . After Smith’s death in 1994 , everyone pointed to him as a potential candidate to succeed him and in the future be the next prime minister. Despite this, Tony Blair , also a Labor parliamentarian , was the one who ended up being elected Labor leader, although many attributed what happened to a secret pact between Blair and Brown in which the latter would remain second in command and, in the event of his resignation, would assume the role. can.

Minister of Finance (1997-2007)

In May 1997, after Blair’s electoral victory, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. During his tenure as head of this portfolio, similar to the position of finance minister, Brown was one of the leading representatives of the United Kingdom ‘s economic success during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Under his supervision, the country has had the longest uninterrupted period of economic growth in the last two centuries, despite major global obstacles, such as the Asian financial crisis, the bursting of the “dot-com bubble” and the terrorist attacks. September 11 , 2001 in the United States .

Amid global chaos, the British economy has been characterized by very low inflation – averaging 2.5% annually since Brown came to office – and the lowest levels of unemployment since the mid-1970s.

Many economists[citation needed] consider that much of this surprising stability is due to his decision, in the spring of 1997, to proclaim the independence of the Bank of England , which from that moment on was able to set interest rates without interference from the government. Furthermore, from his position as Minister of the Treasury, he openly opposed the entry of the United Kingdom into the Eurozone , initially being criticized by several European leaders, although this decision influenced the British economy to not be affected by the European economic debacle that began in 2009 in Greece .

Blair’s successor

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his successor Gordon Brown

In 2007 , after pressure from within his party, Blair announced his decision not to stand for a new term and to resign from his position as prime minister. Brown officially announced his candidacy to succeed Tony Blair as leader of the Labor Party and Prime Minister in May 2007. He made his intention public shortly after Blair himself gave him his explicit support to replace him at the head of the Government.

On June 24 , 2007 , in Manchester , Tony Blair handed over the leadership to Brown; three days before becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .

Prime Minister (2007-2010)

He was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II on June 27 , 2007 , during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace ^[1] . After becoming prime minister, he assumed the challenges of his mandate were the reform of the economy, attention to education and health, as well as the review of British participation in Iraq . In addition, he planned to unite his party again with a view to the important 2010 elections , therefore, Brown appointed several important Labor leaders in his cabinet, among them, John Reid, David Miliband as well as Alan Johnson, the latter occupiers of the portfolios of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior, respectively. Despite this, he could not stop the effects of the economic crisis in his country, having to apply social cutback measures that would culminate in the Labor electoral fall in 2010.

Security policy

In January 2010 , during a press conference, they announced the installation of full body scanners at UK airports [ ^2] . These measures were announced after the attempted attack against a Northwest Airlines plane that was on its way to Detroit on Christmas 2009. These measures were criticized by The Guardian newspaper , which pointed out that this security system would violate the child protection law since which prohibits producing obscene images of minor children.

power output

Despite proven successes in domestic policies as well as an acceptable international image, Brown was unable to stop his party’s electoral results in the May 2010 elections , motivated mainly by the cutback policies applied by the Labor government in the midst of the crisis. economical. During a news conference after the election, he said his Labor Party, which finished a distant second in the national election, will launch a contest to choose a leader to replace him as he focuses on talks aimed at resolving the impasse. election in Great Britain.

“As leader of my party I must accept that as a judgment on me”

Gordon Brown, May 10 , 2010 ^[3]

A day later, on May 11 , 2010 , he formally announced his resignation in a failed attempt to gain the support of the Liberal Democrats led by Nick Clegg .

(…)I wish good luck to the next Prime Minister when he must make important decisions for the future (…) My resignation as leader of the Labor Party is effective immediately (…) And at a time when I am leaving the second most important job important thing I have ever had, I appreciate the first even more, as a husband and father. Thank you and goodbye