Brown, Gordon (redirected from Gordon Brown)

Brown, Gordon (James Gordon Brown), 1951–, British politician. From 1972 to 1980 he taught at Edinburgh Univ. and Glasgow College of Technology; he then joined Scottish Television (1980–83). As a Labour party member of Parliament (1983–97) under the Conservative government, he held major opposition posts on trade and economic affairs. A potential challenger for leadership of the Labour party in 1994, he stepped aside in favor of Tony Blair, and in 1997, after Labour's electoral victory, Brown became chancellor of the exchequer under Blair. One of Brown's early actions was to give the Bank of England the power to set short-term interest rates, a power previous Labour and Conservative governments had reserved for themselves. Brown also has taken a tough stance on government spending, earning a reputation as the "iron chancellor." He has written several books, including a biography (1986) of the socialist parliamentarian James Maxton, Where There Is Greed: Margaret Thatcher and the Betrayal of Britain's Future (1989), and Fair is Efficient: A Socialist Agenda for Fairness (1994).

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Brown, (James) Gordon

(born Feb. 20, 1951, Glasgow, Scot.) Scottish-born British politician and prime minister (2007– ). Brown worked as a teacher and a journalist before winning election in 1983 to the House of Commons as a member of the Labour Party. He subsequently became friends with Tony Blair, and the two men soon found themselves at the forefront of the campaign to modernize Labour's political philosophy, replacing the goal of state socialism with a more pragmatic, market-friendly strategy. After Labour's landslide victory in 1997, Blair became prime minister, and Brown was named chancellor of the Exchequer. Under Brown's leadership, Great Britain experienced a period of relatively steady economic growth, but increased public spending and government borrowing became growing concerns. In June 2007 Blair stepped down as prime minister and as Labour leader, and Brown succeeded him in both posts.