Cherie Blair

Cherie Blair CBE QC
Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 2 May 1997 – 27 June 2007
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Norma Major
Succeeded by	Sarah Brown
3rd Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University
In office 1999–2006
Vice-Chancellor	Prof. Peter Toyne, CBE Prof. Nigel Weatherill
Preceded by	John Moores, CBE
Succeeded by	Brian May, CBE
Personal details
Born	Cherie Booth (1954-09-23) 23 September 1954 Bury, Lancashire, UK
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Tony Blair (1980–present)
Relations	Antony Booth, Lauren Booth, Booth family
Children	Euan Blair (born 1984) Nicholas Blair (born 1985) Kathryn Blair (born 1988) Leo Blair (born 2000)
Alma mater	London School of Economics
Profession	Barrister
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Cherie Blair, CBE, QC (born 23 September 1954), known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister practising in England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair.

Early life and education

Christened Theresa Cara Booth, Cherie Booth was born on 23 September 1954 at Fairfield Hospital, Bury, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), England,^[1] and brought up in Ferndale Road, Waterloo, north of Liverpool. Her father, British actor Tony Booth, left her mother, actress Gale Howard (née Joyce Smith), when Cherie was eight years old.

Cherie Booth and her younger sister, Lyndsey, were then brought up by their mother Gale and their paternal grandmother, Vera Booth, a devout Roman Catholic of Irish descent. The sisters attended Catholic schools in Crosby and Sefton. Cherie Booth attended Seafield Convent Grammar, which is now part of Sacred Heart Catholic College, where she achieved 4 Grade-A GCE A Level passes.

She read law at the London School of Economics and graduated with First-Class Honours. She later came at the top of her year in the bar exams,^[2] while teaching law at the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster). She was Labour parliamentary candidate in Margate in 1983.^[3]

Legal career

A member of Lincoln's Inn, she became a barrister in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1995. Until 1988, her head of chambers was George Carman, QC. In 1999, she was appointed a Recorder (a permanent part-time judge) in the County Court and Crown Court. She is a founding member of Matrix Chambers in London from which she continues to practise as a barrister. Matrix was formed in 2000 specialising in human rights law, though members also practise in a range of areas of UK public and private law, the Law of the European Union and European Convention on Human Rights, and public international law.^[4]

She specialises in employment, discrimination, and public law and, in this capacity, has occasionally represented claimants taking cases against the UK Government.^[5]

Cherie Blair has appeared in a number of leading cases. A notable example before the European Court of Justice was concerned with discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.^[6] In November 2007, she expressed interest in becoming a senior judge.^[7]

Education career

She was the 3rd Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 1999–2006. On 26 July 2006, was awarded the honorary title of Emerita Chancellor, as well as the university honorarily naming its new Cherie Booth Building. She is also Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University.

On March 2, 2011, Cherie Blair was appointed the Chancellor of the Asian University for Women.^[8]

Controversies

In 2002, Blair purchased two flats in Bristol with the assistance, it was alleged but later denied, of Peter Foster, a convicted Australian conman and boyfriend of Blair's friend Carole Caplin, who negotiated a discount for Blair.^[9] Blair publicly apologised for her embarrassing connection to Foster, stating, "I did not think it was my business to choose my friends' friends".^[9]

Her relationship with Carole Caplin has given rise to headlines in some newspapers, as Caplin is credited with introducing Blair to various New Age symbols and beliefs.^[10] Reports of Blair's New Age practices included an account of her 2001 holiday in Mexico, when she and her husband, wearing only swimming costumes, privately took part in a rebirthing procedure that involved smearing mud and fruit over each other's bodies while sitting in a steam bath.^[11]

In 2002, she apologised after saying within hours of a Jerusalem blast that killed at least 19 people in reference to the Palestinian suicide bombers: "As long as young people feel they have no hope but to blow themselves up, we're never going to make progress, are we?".^[12][13]

In January 2010, when sentencing a defendant, Shamso Miah, for assault, Blair announced that she would suspend his prison sentence after describing him as a "religious man". The court heard that Miah had been to a mosque shortly before he broke a man's jaw following a row in a bank queue. Blair told Miah: "You are a religious man and you know this is not acceptable behaviour." This was interpreted by some observers as special leniency given on account of the criminal's religiosity.^[14][15]

The Office for Judicial Complaints released an initial statement saying they had "received a number of complaints in relation to the comments" that Blair had made when sentencing Shamso Miah and that the matter was under investigation.^[16] On 10 June 2010, the OJC released a statement saying that the investigation had "found that Recorder Booth’s observations did not constitute judicial misconduct" and accordingly "no disciplinary action is necessary".^[17] However a private letter to the National Secular Society said that the OJC had taken action in the form of "informal advice" from a more senior judge.^[18]

Philanthropy

Blair is a patron of Breast Cancer Care, a UK breast cancer information and support charity, and Jospice, the international hospice organisation based in her home town of Crosby, Merseyside.^[19] She is also involved with the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK), and is the organisation's patron.^[20][21]

In 2008 she launched her foundation the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, a development organisation that aims to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries. "Our mission is to provide women with the skills, technology, networks and access to capital that they need to become successful small and growing business owners, so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies," says its mission statement.^[22]

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to women's issues and charity.^[23]

In July 1999, Blair was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.

Personal life

Family

In 1976, while she was studying to become a barrister, she met future Prime Minister and husband Tony Blair. She obtained a pupillage in the chambers of Derry Irvine ahead of him, although he was also taken on. Married on 29 March 1980, the Blairs have three sons and one daughter: Euan, Nicholas, Leo, and Kathryn.^[24][25]

Leo, born 2000, was the first child born to a serving Prime Minister in over 150 years, since Francis Russell was born to Lord John Russell on 11 July 1849. Another pregnancy at the age of 47 ended in miscarriage in early August 2002.^[26] The Blair children are noted for having attended highly selective Catholic secondary schools that were selecting their pupils by way of exams, interviews and aptitude tests during Blair's time in office.

Via her father, Cherie Blair and her younger sister Lyndsey have six half-sisters, including British journalist Lauren Booth.

Cherie Blair is a descendant of the Anglo-American theatrical Booth family, mostly known for John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Lincoln of the United States.^[27]

Health issues

On 16 July 2009, it was announced that she had been diagnosed with suspected swine flu. She cancelled many public engagements because of the illness and doctors gave her a course of Tamiflu. She also cancelled a visit to Liverpool's Hope University at which she was to receive an honorary degree for her work in human rights and support for the university.^[28][29]

Political and religious views

Cherie Blair contested the seat of North Thanet in Kent for Labour at the 1983 UK general election, losing to Roger Gale (Conservative).^[30]

She has described herself as a socialist and, at times, has appeared to have views further to the left than those of her husband.^[31] In March 2008 she chaired the Street Weapons Commission on behalf of the broadcaster Channel 4. She toured the UK and took evidence from people affected by street crime and published a report and practical advice in June 2008.^[32]

She is a practising Roman Catholic.^[33] In 2009, Blair urged the Catholic Church to reconsider its hardline stance against contraception, suggesting it could be holding some women back from pursuing a career.^[34]

In George W. Bush's 2010 autobiography Decision Points, Cherie Blair is briefly described as a fierce opponent of the death penalty.

Portrayals and coverage in books, film, and theater

Blair wrote a book of her memoirs, published in late May 2008, entitled Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography,^[35] and the book was listed as a Sunday Times best-seller. Interviewed about the book by Carole MacNeil on the Canadian network CBC Television on 1 June 2008, Blair stated that she felt most of the controversy about her in the British media was due to her pioneering role as the first wife of a British Prime Minister who had her own career, with the media simply not knowing how to treat her fairly and objectively.^[36]

Played by Helen McCrory, Blair features as a character in The Queen (2006), starring Helen Mirren, about the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and is portrayed as a fierce anti-monarchist. McCrory played her again in the 2010 HBO film The Special Relationship. Cherie Blair also features as a character in Chris Bush and Ian McCluskey's production TONY! The Blair Musical.^[37] Phoebe Nicholls played her in The Trial of Tony Blair (2007).

Robert Harris's fictional thriller, The Ghost, features a pivotal character, Ruth Lang, inspired by Blair,^[38] who is revealed to be under the influence of the C.I.A. She is portrayed by Olivia Williams in the 2010 film adaptation by Roman Polanski.

She was featured in George Michael's anti Iraq war song 'Shoot The Dog'.

References

Cited texts

• Blair, Cherie (2008). Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography. Little Brown. ISBN 978-1-4087-0098-3. 

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cherie Blair

• Cherie Blair - Personal website
• Matrix Chambers — Cherie Booth, QC
• First Lady of Downing Street speech
• Cherie Blair at the Internet Movie Database

Academic offices
Preceded by -	Chancellor of the Asian University for Women 2008	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by John Moores, Jr	Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University 1999–2007	Succeeded by Brian May
Honorary titles
Preceded by Norma Major	Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1997–2007	Succeeded by Sarah Brown

v t e Tony Blair Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007) Leader of the Labour Party (1994-2007) Leader of the Opposition (1994-1997) MP for Sedgefield (1983-2007) Born 6 May 1953 (age 60) Politics Premiership Blair ministry Blair–Brown deal Electoral history Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair Ideology Blairism New Labour Third Way General elections 1997 2001 2005 Party election 1994 Shadow Cabinet elections 1992 1993 Post-premiership Quartet on the Middle East Africa Progress Panel Tony Blair Faith Foundation Commission for Africa Books A Journey Family Cherie Blair (wife) Euan Blair (son) Nicky Blair (son) Kathryn Blair (daughter) Leo Blair (son) Leo Blair (senior) (father) Hazel Blair (mother) William Blair (judge) (brother) Cultural depictions The Tony Blair Witch Project (2000) The Deal (2003) "The Regina Monologues" (2004) The Queen (2006) The Blair Years (2007) The Trial of Tony Blair (2007) The Special Relationship (2010) The Hunt for Tony Blair (2011) The Killing of Tony Blair (upcoming) Related topics Ugly Rumours Respect agenda Blatcherism Cool Britannia Blair babe Tony's Cronies Wiktionary Wikibooks Wikiquote Wikisource Commons Wikinews Wikibook Category

v t e Chancellors of Liverpool John Moores University 1st: Henry Egerton Cotton 2nd: John Moores, Jr 3rd: Cherie Blair 4th: Dr. Brian May 5th: Sir Brian Leveson* * indicates current chancellor

v t e Liverpool John Moores University Leadership Chancellor Sir Brian Leveson Pro-Chancellor Sir Malcolm Thornton Vice-Chancellor Nigel P. Weatherill Campuses City Campus I M Marsh Campus Mount Pleasent Campus Schools Liverpool School of Art and Design School of Natural Sciences and Psychology Institutes Astrophysics Research Institute Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Research Institute Buildings City Campus: Avril Robarts LRC College of Technology and Museum Extension James Parsons Building Tom Reilly Building Mount Pleasant Campus: Aldham Robarts LRC Art and Design Academy Liverpool College of Art Liverpool Students' Union Other: Halls of residence Liverpool Telescope People John Moores Henry Cotton Alumni Other Academic dress Category Commons

Persondata
Name	Blair, Cherie
Alternative names	Booth, Cherie (Professional name)
Short description	barrister and wife of Tony Blair
Date of birth	23 September 1954
Place of birth	Bury, Lancashire
Date of death
Place of death