Anthony Francis Seldon MA, PhD, FRSA, MBA, FRHistS (born 2 August 1953)[1] is a political commentator best known as Tony Blair's biographer and the Master of Wellington College. He is the son of the economist Arthur Seldon.
Educated at Tonbridge School and a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, Seldon later went on to study at King's College London, the London School of Economics, and the Polytechnic of Central London.
He served as head of politics and sixth form at Whitgift School from 1983–89, head of history and general studies at Tonbridge School 1989-93, deputy headmaster of St. Dunstan's College 1993-97 and headmaster of Brighton College 1997-2005.[2] He is currently the 13th Master of Wellington College, where he has introduced co-education in all years and pledged to return the school to the top academic division.
It is for his writing as Tony Blair's biographer that Professor Seldon is best known. His biographies The Blair Effect (1997-01 and 2001–05) and Blair (in cooperation with which a Channel 4 documentary was made) are authoritative works, though were unauthorised and access to Blair was strictly curtailed once the editorial direction of the book was ascertained. On 5 November 2007 he published Blair Unbound (ISBN 978-1847370785).
Professor Seldon appears regularly in the national press and has written or edited many other books, including the Thatcher Effect, Britain under Thatcher (with Daniel Collings), Major, A Political Life, Number 10: the illustrated history, and he has also co-authored an illustrated history of the Conservative Party (with Peter Snowdon), which includes a foreword by Michael Howard. His books on 10 Downing Street and John Major are the official biographies.
Professor Seldon founded, with Peter Hennessy, the Institute of Contemporary British History. He also organises annual education conferences at Wellington College for state and independent schools, which in the past have included guest speakers such as Bob Geldof, Rod Liddle, Niall Ferguson, Martin Rees, Robert Winston, Jane Asher, Toby Young, A A Gill, Michael Gove, Andy Burnham, David Starkey, David Willetts, Andrew Adonis and Christopher Woodhead.
In 2006, Professor Seldon introduced Happiness Classes (or positive psychology) to Wellington College because he wanted pupils to focus both positive and negative emotions in a constructive and healthy way. The classes run weekly for those in the 14 - 16 age bracket. The classes offer skills on how to manage relationships, physical and mental health as well as how to achieve ambitions. They are taken by the college's religious education staff, headed by Ian Morris. Professor Seldon, says the lessons would complement rather than replace religion and are proving to be popular.
In 2007, Seldon was given a Chair at The College of Teachers as Professor of Education. The College of Teachers awarded England's first Professorial Chair of Education to Joseph Payne in 1872.
Seldon is a patron of The Iris Project, which runs innovative Literacy through Latin schemes in schools in deprived urban areas.