Booth, Cherie

▪ 2001

      Until 1997, when the Labour Party's victory in the U.K. general election propelled her into Downing Street as the wife of the incoming prime minister, Tony Blair, British barrister Cherie Booth was normally referred to by her married name. After her husband's election, however, she reclaimed her maiden name to emphasize her determination to pursue an independent professional career; she became the first spouse of a British prime minister to maintain a career of her own. In 2000 she also became the first woman in over 150 years to give birth while her husband was serving as prime minister. On May 20, at the age of 45, Booth became a mother for the fourth time when Leo Blair was born.

      Booth was born on Sept. 23, 1954, in Bury, Lancashire. Both of her parents, Anthony Booth and Gale Smith, were actors, socialists, and Roman Catholics. Life became significantly harder when her father left her mother in the early 1960s. Though he went on to become a well-known comedy actor through the long-running BBC television series Till Death Do Us Part, his private life dissolved into alcoholism, womanizing, and debt, and Smith and her children never benefited materially from his acting success. Cherie Booth attended Roman Catholic schools near Liverpool and subsequently studied law at the London School of Economics.

      In 1976 Booth was offered a “pupillage” (trainee position) with a group of lawyers headed by Derry Irvine (he was subsequently made a life peer and in 1997 was appointed lord chancellor). It was there that she met Blair, who was hired at the same time she was. Blair and Booth married in 1980, by which time both were active in the Labour Party, though she was widely regarded as the more radical of the two. Both stood for Parliament in the general election of 1983. Whereas he won a traditional Labour constituency in the north of England, she came in third in a normally Conservative part of Kent, southeast of London.

      As her husband's political career flourished, Booth dedicated herself to the law. She specialized in public-law issues, such as workers' rights and sex-discrimination cases. Following Blair's election as Labour Party leader in 1994, the couple decided that she should continue her career but refrain from becoming a “political” wife in the manner of Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton. Booth was appointed a queen's counsel, or senior barrister, in 1995. Following Labour's return to government in 1997, she continued to fight public-law cases, which occasionally required her to argue in court against the government led by her husband. The only political topic on which she spoke publicly concerned the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, a cause she strongly supported and on which she commanded a considerable amount of professional authority. In 2000 Booth helped to set up Matrix, a new firm of London lawyers specializing in human rights cases.

Peter Kellner

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▪ British attorney

married name  Cherie Booth Blair 

born Sept. 23, 1954, Bury, Lancashire, Eng.

      British attorney specializing in issues of public law and human rights, among others. She is also the wife of Tony Blair (Blair, Tony), who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007.

      Booth's parents, Anthony Booth and Gale Smith, were actors, socialists, and Roman Catholics. Her life became significantly harder when her father left her mother in the early 1960s. Though he went on to become a well-known comedy actor through the long-running BBC television series Till Death Do Us Part, his private life dissolved into alcoholism, philandering, and debt, and Smith and her children never benefited materially from his acting success. Cherie Booth attended Roman Catholic schools near Liverpool and subsequently studied law at the London School of Economics.

      In 1976 Booth was offered a “pupillage” (trainee position) with a group of lawyers headed by the prominent British attorney Derry Irvine. There she met Blair, who had also been hired to train as a barrister. Blair and Booth married in 1980, by which time both were active in the Labour Party (she was widely regarded as more left-leaning than her husband). Both stood for Parliament in the general election of 1983. Whereas he won the traditional Labour constituency of Sedgefield in the north of England, she came in third in a normally Conservative (Conservative Party) part of Kent, southeast of London.

 As her husband's political career flourished, Booth focused on her legal career. She specialized in public law issues, such as workers' rights and sex-discrimination cases. Following Blair's election as Labour Party leader in 1994, the couple decided that she should continue her career but refrain from becoming, in the manner of U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (Clinton, Hillary Rodham), a politically active wife. Booth was appointed a queen's counsel, or senior barrister, in 1995. Following Labour's return to government in 1997, she became the first spouse of a British prime minister to maintain a career of her own. She continued to fight public law cases, which occasionally required her to argue in court against the government led by her husband. The only political topic on which she spoke publicly concerned the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, a cause she strongly supported and on which she commanded a considerable amount of professional authority. In 2000 Booth helped to set up Matrix, a new firm of London lawyers specializing in human rights cases.

Peter Jon Kellner

      Despite her public avoidance of politics, Booth at times found herself unfavourably portrayed in the press both during and after her husband's tenure as prime minister. In 2002 she was widely criticized for comments she made that were viewed as sympathetic toward young Palestinian suicide bombers; she later apologized for the remark. Booth again caused a media stir in 2008 with the publication of her autobiography, Speaking for Myself, in which she provided intimate details of her private life as well as opinions on public figures and members of the royal family.

Ed.

 

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