Politics
Gordon Brown
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007–2010
Born 1951
Photo: Unknown photographer · OGL 3
«Education is the best economic policy there is.»
Gordon Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer for ten years and then prime minister during the 2008 financial crisis, where his plan to recapitalise the banks was copied internationally. He now works on global education funding.
Key achievements
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2007–2010
- Chancellor of the Exchequer for ten years
- Bank recapitalisation plan copied worldwide in 2008
Universities
Edinburgh, Scotland
Entered at sixteen, took a first-class degree in history in 1972 and a PhD in 1982, and was elected rector of the university as a student.
Facts
- He was one of the youngest students the university had admitted in modern times, arriving at sixteen.
- A rugby injury at school detached both retinas and he lost the sight in his left eye despite several operations.
- He was elected rector of Edinburgh University while still a student there, and used the post to campaign against the university's investments in apartheid South Africa.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.