Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, the immediate former British Prime Minister is the current United Nations envoy to the Middle East. He was preceded by Margaret Thatcher and succeeded by Gordon Brown. Blair assumed leadership of the British Labour Party in 1997 following the death of its leader, John Smith. He led the party till he retired as Prime Minister in 2007 (Stephens 3).He was a member of parliament for more than two decades and during his tenure as prime minister, the minimum wage, freedom of access to information and practical devolution of responsibilities to Wales, Scotland and Ireland were accomplished. These were difficult tasks but under he managed. What qualities did he possess that made him manage to do all these?
To begin with, Blair is an eloquent person. He speaks with clarity and his speeches are characterized by coherence. This is a quality he exhibited during his time as a member of parliament. It may have contributed to his rise to the leadership of the Labour Party and later to the Primiership.He still presents his ideas with the same clarity as he pursues his new responsibilities as the Middle East envoy for the United Nations. Communication is an indispensable leadership quality since the leader should be able to put his or her message across without hitches.
Moving from his communication skills, Blair displayed unique courage and determination during his time as prime minister. There are several times the Conservatives presented substantial opposition to his policies and without courage and determination, he would have given up or sacrificed some of his stands. But he fought back and reached out to the British people for support. This is the reason as to why he achieved most of what he had promised to do as Prime Minister. The decision to take British troops to war in Iraq when most European countries were not willing to do so is another courageous step the former Prime Minister took although it proved costly to him later on in his career (Stephens 32).
Besides the above, most decisions Blair made during his time in active politics indicate that he is a wise person. He positioned himself strategically in the party during the tenure of party leader John Smith and this enabled him to outdo his rivals in the race for leadership. He advocated for the change of the party name from Labour Party to New Labour as a way of convincing the electorate that the party was indeed under new management and headed in a better direction.
He then pursued progressive policies that resonated well with the British people. The landslide victory he won in the 1997 election is evidence of the success he managed to achieve because of the wise moves he made. Wisdom is also evident in the people he gave responsibilities in his cabinet. For example appointing Gordon Brown Chancellor of the Exchequer allowed Brown to utilize his financial management skills to manage the economy in the best possible way, a move that made the British economy to improve (Stephens 6).
From the above, it is quite clear that Tony Blair had qualities that made him perform his leadership roles in a way that made him achieve success that is now part of his legacy. The qualities include his ability to communicate well as shown by his speeches, his courage and determination as displayed by the way he countered opposition and stood by hard decision such as joining the Americans in the Iraq war and above all, his wisdom which enabled him make thoughtful moves in his political career and assign the best people for important government jobs such as Gordon Brown whom he appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Works cited
Stephens, Philip. Tony Blair: The Making of a World Leader. London: Viking Books, 2004. Print.