Tony Blair Facts & Worksheets

Anthony Charles Lynton “Tony” Blair is a former British Prime Minister who served the United Kingdom (UK) from 1997 to 2007 under the Labour Party. He is the country’s second youngest elected Prime Minister since 1812 and holds the record for the second longest serving streak since 1827.

See the fact file below for more information on Tony Blair, or you can download our 22-page Tony Blair worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

• Born on May 6, 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Tony Blair is the second among three children of Leo Charles Lynton Blair and  Hazel Elizabeth Rosaleen Corscadden.
• Although born in Scotland, Tony Blair spent most of his childhood years in Durham, England, where he attended the Chorister School.
• In 1966, Tony Blair returned to Edinburgh to enroll in Fettes College. However, in 1971, he left the institution and took a gap year in London, before proceeding to St. John’s College, University of Oxford to study Law from 1972 to 1975.
• Before his graduation in 1975, Tony Blair’s mother passed away after a five-year battle with thyroid cancer. His father and his brother reportedly kept his mother’s illness a secret, while he was finishing his final exams in Oxford.
• At 22, Tony Blair graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence, Second Class Honors.
• In 1976, a year after graduation, Tony Blair joined the Lincoln Inn and became a pupil barrister under the mentorship of Derry Irvine.

ROCKSTAR DREAMS

• During his stay in Fettes College, Tony Blair manifested his interest in rock music. Drawing inspiration from the Rolling Stones’ lead vocalist, Mick Jagger, Tony grew his hair long and was often seen in jeans, instead of the official uniform.
• Tony Blair spent his gap year in London to pursue a career in rock music. Together with Alan Collenette, they formed the Blair-Collenette Promotions to promote rock acts and organize gigs between 1971 and 1972.
• In Oxford, Tony Blair became a guitarist and lead vocalist of a rock band named Ugly Rumours.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE

• Tony’s father, Leo Charles Lynton Blair, was a prominent barrister and academic. When Tony was just 10 years old, his father was the Chairman of the local Conservative Association in Durham, England, and decided to run for Parliament under Tory Party (otherwise known as Conservatives, who favored preserving traditions and rejecting change). However, Tony’s father was forced to withdraw after a sudden stroke, which left him mute for three years.
• It was believed that his father’s political views rubbed off on the then-young Tony when he ran as a Conservative candidate in a mock school election.
• During his first year at St. John’s College, Oxford University, Tony Blair met an Australian priest named Peter Thompson with whom he shared faith- and political-related discussions at night.
• In his later interviews as Prime Minister, Tony described Peter as his greatest influence, who sparked his interest in religious faith and desire for social change.
• Tony had shown little to no involvement in politics until he met his wife, Cherie Booth. Tony and Cherie were both pupil barristers under Derry Irvine at 11 King’s Bench Walk Chambers, and were both active in Labour politics during the 1980s.

BUDDING POLITICAL CAREER AND PREMIERSHIP

• In the 1980s, Tony Blair became active in Labor politics while specializing in employment and commercial law.
• Tony Blair was chosen to represent the Labor Party in the running to become a member of the Parliament for Beaconsfield County in 1982, but he lost during the by-election, garnering only 10% of the votes.
• In 1983, Tony Blair secured a seat in the Parliament, representing Sedgefield, a former mining district in England.
• With increasing support from his party members, Tony quickly rose to the ranks, becoming a Treasury spokesperson in 1985, and entering the Shadow Cabinet in 1988.
• In 1992, Tony Blair was appointed as the Labour Party’s Shadow Home Secretary, serving under the then Party leader, John Smith.
• After John Smith’s death in 1994 due to cardiac arrest, Tony Blair was elected as the new Party leader, and changed its name to “New Labour.”
• In 1997, Tony Blair led the Labour Party to the largest landslide victory in its history.
• The 179-seat parliamentary majority, which was won by Tony Blair in the 1997 General Election, was the largest majority won by any party since 1935.
• At 43, Tony was UK’s youngest Prime Minister since 1812, before he was displaced to second youngest by the election of David Cameron in 2010.
• Tony Blair holds the largest ever second-term majority in UK history, after winning a 167-seat majority in the 2001 General Election. He was elected a third time during the 2005 General Election, but with a reduced majority of 66.
• Tony Blair is the only Labour Party Leader to win three consecutive General Elections in 100 years.
• His 10-year tenure as Prime Minister became the second longest serving streak since 1827 after Margaret Thatcher. This also earned him the title of the longest-serving Labour Prime Minister of UK.
• One of Tony Blair’s biggest achievements as Prime Minister is his contribution to the peace talks in Northern Ireland, which led to the historic Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998, and consequently brought an end to most of the political violence in the area.
• In 1999, Tony Blair introduced the national minimum wage. As a result, the minimum wage has risen from £3.60 per hour in 1999 to £5.05 in October 2005.
• Tony Blair was also known for his support for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2005, legislations like the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect, which gave transgender people the right to change their birth certificates, and allowed gay couples to form legally recognized partnerships, respectively. It was also during his time when adoption by same-sex couples was legalized and workplace discrimination was prohibited.

RESIGNATION

• Tony Blair forged strong ties with the United States of America (USA) under the regime of then-President George W. Bush, and has openly pledged support to the USA in its War on Terror.
• Under Tony Blair’s command, the British troops were sent into five wars: (1) in 1998 to assist the USA in its mission to attack Iraq after failing to comply with the United Nations (UN) resolution on arms reduction; (2) in 1999 during the Kosovo War; (3) in 2001 to undertake Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone Civil War; (4) in 2001 to assist the USA amidst the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Afghanistan; and (5) in 2003, during the invasion of Iraq. This was the most war participation UK has ever experienced in its history.
• It was during the Iraq invasion that Tony Blair’s approval rating started to plummet at an alarming rate due to the rising casualties of British soldiers. The failure to find the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which was the basis of the said invasion, earned him public distrust and dissatisfaction.
• In 2006, Tony Blair received an overwhelming backlash for backing the USA in their stance to ignore the call for an international ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon conflict. By May 2006, his approval rating dropped to a mere 26%, one of the lowest ever in UK’s history.
• On May 10, 2007, following a series of resignations by junior ministers, Tony Blair announced that he would officially tender his resignation on June 27, 2007.
• He was succeeded by his longtime Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, as head of the Labour Party and as Prime Minister.

LIFE AFTER PREMIERSHIP

• On the day of his resignation, Tony Blair was appointed as special envoy to the Middle East by the “Quartet” (USA, Russia, European Union, and UN) and held the same position until 2015.
• Most of his post-premiership life is dedicated to private practice and charity works.
• In 2007, Tony Blair established the Tony Blair Sports Foundation to increase youth engagement in sports, particularly in northeastern England, and to promote overall childhood health by preventing childhood obesity. The foundation closed down its operations after a decade.
• The following year, Tony Blair launched two foundations: (1) Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which encourages mutual respect and understanding between different faiths, while simultaneously confronting global poverty and conflict; and (2) Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), which aims to uplift impoverished Africans by working with African leaders to improve their strategies, policies, and capacities.
• Tony Blair’s 2008 annual income was reported to have reached £7,000,000.00 after joining a Swiss financial insurance called, Zurich Insurance, as climate change advisor. It was also during this year when he was employed by JPMorgan Chase as senior political and strategic advisor.
• In 2010, Tony Blair published his bestselling memoir entitled, “A Journey,” which outlined his political life.
• Later that year, Tony Blair was awarded the Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia for his unwavering commitment to conflict resolution in Northern Ireland. Along with the medal is a $100,000 prize, which he donated to his charities, Tony Blair Faith Foundation and Tony Blair AGI.
• In 2016, Tony Blair founded the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a non-profit organization, which continued the implementation of the programs under the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and Tony Blair AGI.
• In 2022, Tony Blair received the highest British civil and military honor possible when he was appointed as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in Europe.

Tony Blair Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Tony Blair across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Tony Blair, which is Britain’s second youngest elected Prime Minister since 1812.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Tony Blair Facts
2. Trip Around UK
3. Tony’s Memory Lane
4. Labour vs. Conservatives
5. Time Travelling with Tony
6. Who Am I?
7. Fact Check!
8. Unscramble and Find
9. Tony Says
10. Ready, Set…Create!
11. Letters to Tony

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tony Blair best known for?

On May 2, 1997, Tony Blair became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is known for his work in helping to negotiate the Good Friday Agreement, which helped to bring an end to 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland.

What did Tony Blair do while he was Prime Minister?

Blair implemented a number of significant changes during his first term as Prime Minister, including raising taxes, creating the National Minimum Wage, and introducing new employment rights. He also pushed for new civil rights for gay people in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and ratified treaties that would bring the United Kingdom closer to EU integration.

Who succeeded Tony Blair?

Tony Blair was replaced as Prime Minister by Gordon Brown on June 27, 2007. Brown made many changes to the country’s money and fiscal policy. He also gave more power to the Treasury to control domestic policy. The economy did well during his time as Chancellor.

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