Cherie Blair

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Cherie Blair QC
Born	Cherie Booth 23 September 1954 (1954-09-23) (age 55) Bury, Lancashire, England
Residence	10 Downing Street (1997–2007) Connaught Square (2007–present)
Education	London School of Economics
Occupation	Barrister
Religious beliefs	Roman Catholic
Spouse(s)	Tony Blair (m. 1980–present) «start: (1980-03-29)»"Marriage: Tony Blair to Cherie Blair" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherie_Blair)
Children	Euan Blair (born 1984) Nicholas Blair (born 1985) Kathryn Blair (born 1988) Leo Blair (born 2000)
Parents	Tony Booth (father) Gale Smith (mother)
Website Official website

Cherie Blair (born 23 September 1954), known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is an English barrister. She is married to the former British Prime Minister and current Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, Tony Blair.

Early life

She was born in Bury, then Lancashire, now Greater Manchester, England and brought up in Ferndale Road, Waterloo, north of Liverpool. Her father, the actor Tony Booth, left her mother Gale when Cherie Booth was eight years old. Booth and her younger sister, Lyndsey, were then brought up by their mother Gale and their paternal grandmother Vera Booth, a devout Roman Catholic. Cherie and her sister both attended Catholic schools in Crosby in 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. Booth has six half sisters, including the journalist Lauren Booth. She is a practising Catholic.^[1]

University, marriage, family

Euan and Cherie Blair at the Red Bull Air Race 2007

She studied 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. 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, they have four children: Euan Anthony (b. 19 January 1984), Nicholas John (b. 6 December 1985), Kathryn Hazel (b. 2 March 1988), and Leo George (b. 20 May 2000). According to Blair's official biography, Leo 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.

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

Political attempt and views

Cherie Blair unsuccessfully contested the seat of North Thanet in Kent for Labour at the 1983 UK general election, losing to Roger Gale (Conservative), while her husband was selected at the last minute for a safe seat in Sedgefield in County Durham in the same election. She was considering standing in 1987, but a cycling accident in which she broke both her arms ended her chances.

She has described herself as a champagne socialist and at times has appeared to have views further to the left than those of her husband.^[3] Cherie Blair is currently the Chairwoman of the Street Weapons Commission^[4], an organization based on solving youth crime in London and extensively the UK.

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 was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 1999-2006, and on 26 July 2006 was awarded the honorary title of Emeritus Chancellor. She is also Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University. 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.^[5]

She specialises in employment, discrimination and public law and in this capacity has occasionally represented claimants taking cases against the UK government.^[6]

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. See ECJ Case C-249/96, Lisa Jacqueline Grant vs. South-West Trains Ltd. [3] In November 2007, she expressed interest in becoming a senior judge.^[7]

Currently, Cherie Booth is leading the prosecution against the Royal Bank of Scotland, in that the Royal Bank of Scotland falsely claimed they were solvent whilst share dealing on the NYSE, when actually the Royal Bank of Scotland was insolvent. It is thought the total to be claimed could be in excess of $50 Billion, as it is an American class action suit which is inclusive to all shareholders.^{[citation needed]}

Controversies

Cherie Blair sometimes caused her husband embarrassment during his time in office as a result of a number of high profile public gaffes. In 2000, Cherie Blair was fined for travelling by train between London and Luton without a valid ticket.^[8]

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] Blair regularly wears "magic pendants" known as "BioElectric Shields". Reports of her 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 others' bodies while sitting in a steam bath.^[11] It is claimed her fourth pregnancy at 45 came after she submitted to New Age sexual techniques,^[12] though she herself blames leaving contraceptives at home due to embarrassment whilst visiting Balmoral Castle.^[13]

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?".^[14][15]

Cherie Blair has demanded that the Catholic Church reconsider its hardline stance against contraception, suggesting it could be holding some women back from pursuing a career.^[16]

Portrayals

Cherie Blair features as a character in Chris Bush and Ian McCluskey's highly acclaimed production TONY! The Blair Musical,^[17] originally performed at York Theatre Royal and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Played by Helen McCrory, Blair also features as a character in the The Queen (2006) starring Dame Helen Mirren about the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and is portrayed as a fierce anti-monarchist. McCrory is set to play her again in the upcoming film The Special Relationship.

Robert Harris's fictional thriller, The Ghost, features a pivotal character, Ruth Lang, inspired by Blair,^[18] who is revealed to be under the influence of the C.I.A.

Phoebe Nicholls played her in The Trial of Tony Blair (2007).

Cherie Blair also features in satiric animation video by George Michael - "I'm gonna shoot the dog".

On an appearance on The Late Late Show on the 4th of September, 2009, Cherie launched her new career as the 'face' of Spanx control-wear.

Awards and recognition

Cherie Blair has been awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill medal in recognition of her high ideals and courageous actions.^[19]

Philanthropy

Cherie 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.^[20]

Cherie Blair's foundation - Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW) ^[21]

It has also been reported that Mrs Blair recently became a patron of the London Oratory School Schola, a famous boys' choir whose other patrons include actor Simon Callow, composer James MacMillan and Princess Michael of Kent.

Health

On July 16, 2009, it was announced that Mrs Blair had been diagnosed with the suspected disease swine flu. As a result, she had to cancel many public engagements because of the illness. Doctors were reported to have given her a course of Tamiflu. She also had to cancel a visit to Liverpool's Hope University at which she was to receive an honorary degree for her work in human rights and also support for the university.^{[22] [23]}

Memoirs

Blair published her memoirs in late May 2008, entitled: Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography of Cherie Blair, and the book was listed as a Sunday Times bestseller. 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.^[24]

Styles

• Miss Cherie Booth (1954-1980)
• Mrs Tony Blair (1980-)
• Cherie Booth QC (1995-)

Blair uses the title "Cherie Booth QC" professionally, although she is Mrs Tony Blair by marriage.

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cherie Blair

The following links were last verified 14 December 2006.

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