Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair Bury, Lancashire, England | |
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Alma mater | |
Occupation | Barrister |
Known for | Spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom (1997–2007) |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse |
Sir Tony Blair (m. 1980) |
Children | 4, including Euan |
Parent | Tony Booth (father) |
Relatives | Lauren Booth (paternal half‑sister) |
Website | cherieblair |
Signature | |
Cherie, Lady Blair
Early life and education
Booth was born on 23 September 1954 at
She read law at the
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. In 1999, she was appointed a recorder (a permanent part-time judge) in the County Court and Crown Court.[6]
She was a founding member of
Blair has appeared in a number of leading cases. A notable example, Lisa Grant v South West Trains Ltd, before the European Court of Justice concerned discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.[10][11]
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.[12][13] 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.[14] 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".[15] A private letter to the National Secular Society said, however, that the OJC had taken action in the form of "informal advice" from a more senior judge.[16]
In 2015, Blair defended Rwandan spy chief Emmanuel Karenzi Karake against accusations that he had conspired to murder three Spanish NGO workers and a Canadian priest.[17] Karake had allegedly done so because the workers knew about the Rwandan Patriotic Front killing Hutu civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[17]
Blair launched a company called Mee Healthcare with an American business partner Gail Lese in 2011. In June 2015, it ceased trading and all staff were dismissed without notice.[18]
In 2021, Blair worked as an ethics adviser for Israeli security firm NSO Group.[19]
Career in academia
Blair was the third Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 1999 to 2006. On 26 July 2006, she 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 2 March 2011, Blair was appointed the Chancellor of the Asian University for Women.[20]
Blair is regularly invited to speak at legal and leadership conferences, and has in the past participated in the World Law Forum, ET Women's Forum, Yidan Prize Summit and the Commonwealth Africa Summit, amongst others.
Honours and charity work
In July 1999, Blair was awarded the honorary degree of
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.[25]
In 2010, Blair spoke at
Also in 2010, Blair founded the Africa Justice Foundation alongside barristers Suella Braverman and Philip Riches.[27][28]
She was appointed
In June 2018, "Cherie Blair Foundation for Women" was inducted into Power Brands LIFE – Hall of Fame at the London International Forum for Equality.[30]
Controversies
In 2002, Blair purchased two flats in
Her relationship with Caplin gave rise to headlines in some newspapers, as Caplin is credited with introducing Blair to various New Age symbols and beliefs.[32] 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.[33]
In 2002, she apologised after saying within hours of a
On 12 December 2008, Blair gave a lecture alternatively entitled "The Church and Women's Rights: time for a fresh perspective?"[36] or "Religion as a Force in protecting Women's Human Rights"[37][38] at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, in Rome.[37][39]
In summer 2015, in the wake of the
In summer 2015, Blair's law firm accepted a large fee to advise the
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 31 March 1980, the Blairs have three sons and one daughter: Euan (born 1984), Nicholas (born 1985), Kathryn (born 1988), and Leo (born 2000).[46][47][48]
Leo was the first child born to the wife of a serving British prime minister in over 150 years, since Rollo Russell was born to Lady Frances Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound and Lord John Russell on 11 July 1849. Another pregnancy at the age of 47 ended in miscarriage in early August 2002.[49] The Blair children attended Catholic secondary schools, including The London Oratory School. All four children have Irish passports, by virtue of Tony Blair's mother, Hazel Elizabeth Corscadden, a Protestant, the daughter of George Corscadden, a butcher and Orangeman who moved to Glasgow in 1916 but returned to Ballyshannon in 1923, where Hazel was born to George and Sarah Margaret (née Lipsett), above her family's grocery shop.[50] Via her father, Blair and her younger sister Lyndsey have six half-sisters, including British journalist Lauren Booth.[citation needed]
Her first grandchild (a girl) was born in October 2016.[51]
Political and religious views
Blair has described herself as a socialist and, at times, has appeared to have views further to the left than those of her husband.[52] She is a republican and reportedly chooses to handshake rather than curtsy when meeting royals,[53][54] including Elizabeth II.[55] According to the royal historian Carolyn Harris, Blair's preference for a handshake "attracted controversy as it was seen as making a statement about her republican views".[54] Elizabeth herself was said to take amusement from Blair's refusal to curtsey and has been quoted as stating "I can almost feel Mrs Blair's knees stiffening when I come into the room".[56]
In March 2008, Blair 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.[57]
She is a practising Roman Catholic.[58] In 2009, Blair urged the Catholic Church to reconsider its opposition to contraception, suggesting it could be holding some women back from pursuing a career.[59]
In George W. Bush's 2010 autobiography Decision Points, Blair is briefly described as a fierce opponent of the death penalty.[60]
Writings, portrayals, and coverage in books, film and theatre
Blair co-authored, with Cate Haste, the 2004 book The Goldfish Bowl: Married to the Prime Minister. The book is a compilation history of the lives of spouses of British prime ministers for most of the second half of the 20th century. It covers the spouses of former prime ministers Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, and John Major.
Blair wrote a book of her memoirs, published in late May 2008, entitled Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography,
Played by
In June 2019, Blair signed on as an executive producer for Jerusalem-set drama feature film The Rock Pile, a first try into film production for her.[67]
Recognition
She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.[68] In 2023, she was awarded the 40 over 40 award by Monaco Voice.[69]
References
- ^ Blair, Cherie (2008), p. 9.
- ^ Blair, Cherie (2008). Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street. Little, Brown.
- Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 June 2016 (subscription needed for full access).
- ^ "Profile: Cherie Blair". BBC News. 19 June 2002. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Walker, Tim (13 September 2009). "Cherie Blair plans to be Gordon Brown's secret weapon at the election". Daily Telegraph. London, UK: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ "Comment by Cherie about Tony is naive". Lancashire Telegraph. 10 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Matrix Chambers". matrixlaw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006.
- ^ "Omnia Team » Cherie Blair CBE, QC". omniastrategy.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "Purja & Ors, R (on the application of) v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445 (Admin) (21 February 2003)". Bailii.org. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "CURIA – Search form". Curia.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Cherie Booth in plea for gay rights". The Independent. 10 July 1997. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "Complaint after Cherie Booth spares religious man jail". BBC News. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Taylor, Jerome (4 February 2010). "Secular society upset by Judge Cherie decision". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Statement from the office of judicial complaints" (PDF). OJC. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ "Investigation Statement – Recorder Cherie Booth QC" (PDF). Office for Judicial Complaints. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Cover-up claim over Cherie Blair court remark to Muslim". BBC News. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Spanish Court Revives Case against Kagame's Military Entourage". Foreign Policy Journal. 14 July 2017.
- ^ "Cherie Blair's healthcare company goes bust and staff laid off". Metro. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Brown, David. "Cherie Blair is adviser to NSO, the firm behind Pegasus spyware". The Times. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "Cherie Blair Named Chancellor of Asian University for Women". PR Newswire. UBM plc. 2 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ "Cherie Blair opens extension at Jospice in Thornton". YouTube. 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Our Patrons". Scope. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- ^ "Cherie Blair profile". Cherie Blair. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "Child in Need India". CINI. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "Cherie Blair Foundation for Women". Cherieblairfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Students gather at ACC for 'We Day' celebration". Toronto. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ Blair, Cherie; Kewley, Jonathan (2 February 2011). "Why good laws hold the key to Africa's transformation". The Times. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- The Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 7.
- ^ Global, Power Brands. "Power Brands Global". Power Brands Global. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Cherie says 'sorry' for Foster dealings" Archived 11 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, 10 December 2002.
- ^ Cohen, Nick (10 December 2002). "Nick Cohen: Ev'rybody must get stones". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ISBN 0-00-714097-5
- ^ Glover, Julian (9 February 2005). "Cherie under attack: from fur in flight to freebies". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "PM's wife 'sorry' in suicide bomb row". BBC News. 18 June 2002. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Women and Human Rights". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2014. accessed 1 December 2014.
- ^ a b Crawley, William (6 December 2008). "Pro-life campaigners urge Catholic university to ban Cherie Blair". Will & Testament. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "Cherie Blair". Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ "Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: Fr. Philip's comments on Cherie Blair's Angelicum lecture". 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014. accessed 1 December 2014.
- ^ Roberts, Dan; Gibson, Owen (1 July 2015). "Hillary Clinton lobbied by Cherie Blair to meet Qatari royal, emails reveal". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ telegraph.co.uk: "Hillary Clinton may have broken US secrecy rules with emails from Tony Blair and Downing Street" Archived 2 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, 1 September 2015.
- ^ Blair, Cherie (3 July 2015). "I did not lobby on behalf of Qatari royal". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Harding, Luke (1 September 2015). "Hillary Clinton emails: Cherie Blair lobbied for Qatari crown prince". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Sherwell, Philip (9 September 2015). "Amal Clooney v Cherie Blair: Maldives paradise islands stage battle of UK female lawyers". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Conduct of trial of Maldives' ex-President raises serious concerns". ohchr.org. United Nations. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Facts: Life and times of Tony Blair". Edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Blair's son 'drunk and incapable'". BBC News. 6 July 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009.
- ^ "Blairs' family life under spotlight". 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Cherie Blair suffers miscarriage". BBC News. 6 August 2002. Archived from the original on 24 January 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Mcdonagh, Melanie (13 September 2009). "Names that mean trouble". Sunday Times. London, UK. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011.
- ^ Blair, Cherie (27 October 2016). "Equality between men and women is still 170 years away". The Independent. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
Last week Tony and I were delighted to welcome our fourth grandchild into the family.
- ^ Kettle, Martin (17 May 2008). "Martin Kettle interviews Cherie Blair". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Wilson, Graeme (31 August 2006). "Blairs' nine-year royal ordeal is almost over". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ a b Turner, Lauren (9 August 2018). "Theresa May and the art of the curtsy". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ Brown, Jonathan (29 April 2006). "Forget the protocols, Cherie has a private chat with the Pope". The Independent. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ Bradford, Sarah (8 April 2006). "The Queen has succeeded simply by being herself: Reflections on the Queen's extraordinary life". The Spectator. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ Conlan, Tara (26 March 2008). "Cherie Booth tackles street crime with Channel 4". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Faith". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Blair: end Church's hard line on birth control". Herald Scotland. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-307-59061-9.
- ^ Blair, Cherie (2008). Book cover.
- ^ CBC Television, 1 June 2008; interview by Carole MacNeil.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Queen Movie Review & Film Summary (2006) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "TLS - Times Literary Supplement". Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2008. (subscription required)
- ^ Tempest, Matthew (1 July 2002). "George Michael lampoons 'poodle' Blair". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Who plays Cherie Blair in The Crown?". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (19 June 2019). "Cherie Blair signs on as executive producer for Jerusalem-set drama 'The Rock Pile'". Screen. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "100 Women: Who took part?". BBC News. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Voice, Monaco. "Cherie Blair, CBE KC". Monaco Voice. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
Cited texts
- Blair, Cherie (2008). Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography. ISBN 978-1-4087-0098-3.
External links
External videos | |
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'Twiggy' Forrest and Cherie Blaire call for tougher modern slavery laws, Matter Of Fact With Stan Grant, ABC News |