A successful chancellor of the exchequer
Gordon Brown,1951was born in a pastor's family in Glasgow, Scotland on February 20th. 1968 joined the Labour Party. 1982 received a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He worked as a lecturer, journalist and TV editor at Edinburgh University and Glasgow Institute of Technology. From 1977 to 1983, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Scottish Labour Party. 1983 was elected as a member of the House of Commons and served as the chairman of the Scottish Committee of the Labour Party. 1992 was the finance minister of the shadow cabinet of the Labour Party. 1May 1997, ascended the throne of Finance Minister. In June 2006, 5438+0 was re-elected as Minister of Finance. In May 2005, he was re-elected as Finance Minister.
Brown is called "the most successful Chancellor of the Exchequer in British history", because during his tenure, the British economy continued to prosper, and both friends and enemies admired his ability to prosper the British economy. "Economic achievement" is Brown's greatest capital for the Labour Party leader and prime minister. Under the leadership of Brown, the independence of the Bank of England in monetary policy has greatly increased, which has made the British economy out of the cycle of prosperity-bubble-fragmentation, and the inflation rate has remained at a low level for many years. According to the report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, from 1997 to 2006, Britain's annual economic growth rate reached 2.7%, which was higher than the average growth rate of 2. 1% in the euro zone and close to 3% in 2007. Sterling 10 years is the strongest; The unemployment rate dropped from 7% in 1997 to 5.5% (the average unemployment rate in the euro zone is 8.1%); The education budget has doubled; The public health system fund has almost tripled.
Perhaps because of his extraordinary ability, Brown said confidently when he was described as "gloomy" by the domestic media: "I think we are stepping away from the era when star politicians are in power. In the next few years, people will judge a political figure mainly by his personal character and whether he has the ability to handle major events. "
Life is hard.
Brown 10 was injured playing football, and his left eye was blind, so he had to use large-sized notes in his speech. However, eye disease increased his determination to struggle. His enthusiasm for work also delayed his marriage. It was not until August 2000 that Brown, who was nearly 50 years old, ended his life as a single aristocrat and married Sarah Macaulay, a public relations manager 13 years younger than him.
On February 28th, 2006, 5438+0 12 Mr. and Mrs. Brown were very happy, but due to premature delivery, the child died in June of 5438+02. The loss of a daughter hit Brown hard. When it comes to loving his daughter, Brown, who has always shown his wooden image, will show his gentleness. His voice choked with tears in his eyes, and he said, "Nothing is more cruel than losing a young and precious life. A person can never bear such a thing, because he always feels that he has lost something in his life ... "
In 2003, their first son, John, was born, which brought them some comfort. This eased the pain of losing a daughter. Brown later said that he couldn't stand listening to music for nearly a year after his daughter died. Fortunately, John's birth made up for all this. He couldn't help telling the joy of being a father: "Although it is difficult to sleep at some nights, every morning, my steps are as strong as springs."
In the summer of 2006, their second son, james frazer, was born, but he suffered from cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease. With the death of his daughter and the illness of his second son, Jeanblanc cherished life even more.
According to Paul routledge, Brown's biographer, Brown had great political ambitions at an early age. At the age of 12, Brown and his brother John persuaded the Labour Party to allow them to publish an article by Harold Wilson, the then leader of the Labour Party, in their own newspaper. /kloc-at the age of 0/6, Brown lived up to expectations and was admitted to the famous Scottish university Edinburgh University to study history and won a scholarship, becoming the youngest college student at that time. During his college years, Brown was among the best in all subjects, and 1982 received his doctorate in economics from Edinburgh University with the first place. But he has never been a diligent student. At Edinburgh University, Brown tried his political talents. After a fierce campaign, he successfully became the president of the student union, and was elected as the "student president" of Edinburgh University and the president of the university court. At the age of 24, Brown published his so-called Scottish Red Book, which analyzed the situation in Scotland with the tone of British Prime Minister and showed his political talent.
The mysterious relationship with Blair
Blair and Brown are both dazzling stars in British politics and have always been regarded as golden boy partners in politics. However, from * * * using an office to hardly talking, the relationship between the two is also one of the most difficult mysteries for the British government to solve.
1In June, 983, Blair and Brown met for the first time, and they shared an office. 199 1 lead the labour party to win the British election with Blair. After that, Blair became prime minister, in charge of diplomacy and education; Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, in charge of economic and domestic affairs. From 65438 to 0994, the death of John Smith, the leader of the Labour Party, was a turning point in their relationship. On May 3 1 that year, Blair and Brown held a famous meeting at Granita Hotel in Islington. It is said that Brown agreed to give up the competition to make way for Blair to succeed as leader of the Labour Party. In return, Blair agreed to step down at an appropriate time and support Brown as the leader of the Labour Party.
Blair's delay in keeping his promise will inevitably lead to Jeanblanc's anxiety. In 2003, although the contest between Prime Minister Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown was mostly behind the scenes, their differences on important issues gradually widened. In May, 2004, Brown took advantage of the unpopularity of Blair's Iraq war policy and joined hands with john prescott, an important figure in the party and deputy prime minister, to launch a "forced palace" against Blair. Blair relied on the "protection of ministers" and stood firm. The contradiction between the two began to become public. In September 2006, the discord between the two reached a climax. It is reported that Blair and Brown "quarreled" on the issue of inheritance at a meeting. As a result, a young minister who asked Blair to resign resigned and seven government assistants resigned together. It was not until May 2007 1 that Blair said that he would announce the timetable for his resignation, and he finally made it clear that he supported Brown's succession.
For Brown, Blair, who is two years younger than him, has been in the position of Prime Minister for 10 years, and now it's his turn to show his talents.
In fact, Brown has been a "tenant" in the Prime Minister's office for many years. At one time, the owner of the Downing Street 10 Prime Minister's Office was actually Finance Minister Brown, and Blair, the "real prime minister", lived in Downing Street 1 1 next door. As usual, Blair led the Labor Party to win the general election with 1997, and was arranged to live in Downing Street 10, full of glory. His successor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown, lives next door 1 1. However, due to Blair's large family, Brown is still single. So Blair and Brown reached a "house exchange agreement" to optimize the allocation of resources. The Blair family moved into the spacious 1 1, and the lonely and inseparable Brown moved into 10.
The style is quite like Iron Lady.
Blair has been in power for 10 years, which deeply branded his personal style of kindness, talkativeness and humor on the position of prime minister. Brown has a completely different style in character.
Brown, who is usually seen on TV and on various occasions, often wears an ironed suit. There are only boring facts and figures in his speech, giving the impression that he is conservative and serious.
And this fortitude has brought a lot of ammunition to others: some people say that Brown is cold and witty, tough on the surface and timid inside; Some people say that he is a "mentally defective" person; Some people say that he is a politician who manipulates party activities; Others say that he is an intellectual who opposes the state machine; Some people say that he is a talented politician with Scottish nationalism ... More often, Brown is just nicknamed "Lady Thatcher in Pants" because he is as diligent, intelligent, aloof and awesome as the famous "Iron Lady". He always expresses his views at the last minute, and he doesn't express them in words immediately. Even very important decisions will be printed only a few days before they are announced, which makes some staff who like to leak information unable to start.
But Brown's friends think that he is actually more enthusiastic and wise in real life. Friends strongly advise Brown to smile more in public, show his personal feelings and strengthen communication with the public. So Brown sometimes tells some jokes in public, but some of his poor expressions make people laugh at all, so he is self-defeating and labeled as "a person without personality charm". Brown felt that he lacked a sense of humor, so he specially asked former US President Bill Clinton's joke writers to write some jokes for him to increase his personal charm, so as to establish a humorous, relaxed and energetic public image like Blair.