Euan Blair

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Euan Blair
birth_date = birth date and age|1984|1|19|df=y
birth_place = London, England
parents = Tony Blair and Cherie Blair

Euan Anthony Blair (born 19 January 1984, London), is the eldest son of Cherie Blair and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Education

Blair was educated at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic primary school and The London Oratory School, a highly regarded Roman Catholic grant aided school in Fulham with a very wide catchment area.

Blair graduated with a B.A. in Ancient History from the University of Bristol in 2005, having attained a 2:1 (upper second class) honours degree. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4694003.stm Blairs watch eldest son graduate] ] [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2329379,00.html Euan Blair's holiday ends in pain and a hospital bed] ]

Blair spent three months as an unpaid intern with Republican David Dreier and Republican Party staff of the Rules Committee of the United States House of Representatives ref|washingtonpostintership. He then crossed the aisle to spend time working in the office of Democrat Jane Harman (a "Blue Dog" Democrat). Blair cut short his internship with Harman in May 2006, after just a fortnight. A statement from Harman's office cited Blair's graduate school plans. He has also worked in film productions in the UK such as Band of Brothers and V for Vendetta.

In early 2006, Blair found two weeks of work experience [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,1874561,00.html The PR tycoon, a private dinner and PM's meeting with Euro lobby group] ] [ [http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?id=060122003429&ct=0&nclick_check=1 Lucy Kellaway: Why work experience doesn't pay] ] with the London PR company Finsbury [http://www.finsbury.com] . In 2008, Blair graduated from Yale University with a master's degree in international relations, after being awarded a £50,000 ($100,000) scholarship based on merit.

Media coverage

Because of his father's position, Blair has been subject to the attention of the British media. This is partly through coverage of stories that have broken, but it is also because of his appearance with his parents in photo shoots (together with siblings Nicky, Kathryn, and Leo), especially during general election campaigns.

The incident for which Blair first attracted significant attention in his own right was in 2000 when, aged 16, he was found by police, incapable of walking in Leicester Square, having spent the night celebrating the completion of his GCSEs with friends. After being taken to a police station, he gave a false name, an old address, and a false date of birth that would have made him 18 (the legal age to purchase alcohol in the United Kingdom). This leaked to the press and caused considerable embarrassment to Tony Blair, who had recently introduced measures to deal with young offenders. Regarding a potential prosecution, he told the BBC's "Question Time" that his son should not receive special preferences. In the end, Euan apologised for the incident, and was neither prosecuted nor formally cautioned.

In 2001 "The Daily Mail" and "The Daily Telegraph" both revealed that Blair was applying to Trinity College, Oxford. His parents made a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission that these reports represented an intrusion, and the complaint was upheld. Blair failed to meet the specified A-level grades that were part of the conditional offer, so he took a place at Bristol University instead, where he later graduated with an upper second degree in Ancient History.

Also in 2001, the BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1576507.stm reported] that Blair and another teenage friend fought off a gang of eight to ten youths who were demanding property from them. The muggers left empty-handed.

In 2002, a scandal erupted over Blair's mother, Cherie Booth's use of a known fraudster to negotiate the acquisition of two flats for him and his guards to live whilst at university in Bristol.

In 2006, it was reported in "The Sunday Times" that Blair had worked as a runner for the film "V for Vendetta" when it was filmed around the Palace of Westminster in the Summer of 2005ref|sundaytimesfilmrunner. Both Conservative MP David Davies and "Private Eye" suggested that Blair's involvement had had an effect of the filming access being allowedref|privateeyefilmrunner. However, the location manager for the film, Nick Daubeny, denied that Blair's involvement had helped in any way, saying that Blair had been offered the job after they had worked together as part of the filming of "Band of Brothers" in 2001.

On 25 August 2006, global media —including the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5285066.stm BBC] and Barbados' [http://www.nationnews.com/story/360727110661830.php Daily Nation] — reported that Blair was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, near Bridgetown, Barbados, and had undergone treatment for a stomach complaint.

In October 2006, Blair had his appendix removed after being diagnosed with appendicitis, a fact which explained his recurrent stomach pains. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=410443&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490]

Trivia

* Blair's home has been a town house in Connaught Square, London W2, since his father left the office of Prime Minister in 2007, requiring the vacation of the residence at Downing Street.Fact|date=June 2008
* Blair is a baptised Catholic. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2836183.ece Tony Blair could become Roman Catholic in time to celebrate Christmas Mass] ]
* Blair is a big Liverpool Football Club supporter.Fact|date=August 2008

References

* "The Yale Daily News", 1 June, 2006 — [http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/17682]
* "The Washington Post", 24 February, 2006 — [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022302030.html article]
* "The Washington Post", 19 May, 2006 — [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051900039.html article]
* "The Sunday Times", 1 January, 2006 — [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1965217,00.html article]
* "Private Eye", Issue 1153 (3 March, 2006)

External links

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