G ordon brown

James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He took office on 27 June 2007, three days after he had become leader of the Labour Party. Before that he had served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony Blair's government from 1997 to 2007. He has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh, and, as Prime Minister, he also holds the positions of First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983.

Early life and education

Gordon Brown was born in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.

His father, John Ebenezer Brown, was a strong influence on Brown and died aged 84. His mother Elizabeth died in 2004 aged 86. Gordon was brought up with his brothers John and Andrew Brown in Kirkcaldy—the largest town in Fife, Scotland. Brown was educated first at Kirkcaldy West Primary School and then at Kirkcaldy High School.

He was accepted by the University of Edinburgh to study history at the age of only 16. Brown graduated from Edinburgh with First Class Honours MA in 1972, and stayed on to complete his PhD (which he gained in 1982).

From 1972 to 1975 Brown served as Rector of the University of Edinburgh. From 1976 to 1980 he was a lecturer in Politics at Glasgow College of Technology. He then worked as a journalist at Scottish Television, until his election to parliament in 1983.

Brown married Sarah Macaulay in a private ceremony at his home in North Queensferry, Fife, on 3 August 2000. Now they have two children, John and James Fraser.

Later life and political career

Gordon Brown was elected to Parliament on his second attempt as a Labour MP for Dunfermline East in 1983 general election and became opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in 1985. Brown was Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1987 to 1989 and then Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, before becoming Shadow Chancellor in 1992.

Brown's 10 years and 2 months (1997 to 2007) as Chancellor of the Exchequer made him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history.

On 7 September 2006, Blair, under pressure from within his own party, announced that he would step down within a year. Brown was the clear favourite; he was the only candidate spoken of seriously in Westminster and, upon the approval of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, he became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 27 June 2007. Brown is the first prime minister from a Scottish constituency since the Conservative Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1964. He is the sixth of the twelve post-war Prime Ministers to be appointed to the role without having won a general election.

Brown wants Parliament to gain the right to ratify treaties and have more oversight into the intelligence services. He has also proposed moving some powers from Parliament to citizens.

DID YOU GET IT?

1. Answer the questions concerning the politician you’ve read about.

1. Where and when was he/she born?

2. Did he/she have a good education?

3. Which people played a part in his/her career?

4. What are his/her political views?

5. What do you think were the most important events in his/her life?

6. Has he/she had a happy family life?

7. Which of the following numbers or dates relate to your person? What do they refer to?

November 1990 16 1997 May 1979 1950

until 1992 1983 27 June 2007 10

2. What similarities and differences can you find between the two people?

3. Are the sentences about Margaret Thatcher/Gordon Brown true or false? Correct the false sentences.

1. He/She came from a rich family.

2. He/She loved being a politician.

3. He/She worked hard.

4. He/She won an election to become a Prime Minister (PM).

5. He/She was in office for eleven years.

6. He/She has been a member of the Conservative Party.

7. He/She had many other professions before he/she became a PM.

8. He/She wants to give more powers to citizens.