AP - TRIMDON, England — Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that he will step down as prime minister on June 27, after a decade in office in which he brokered peace in Northern Ireland and followed the United States to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Blair, 54, will leave office as soon as a new leader is elected for the Labour Party.
"'I've been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years," he told supporters in his in his Parliamentary constituency.
"In this job, in the world of today, I think that's long enough for me but more especially for the country. Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."
Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Blair's partner in reforming the Labour Party and a sometimes impatient rival in government, was expected to easily win election a the party's new leader and become the next prime minister.
Blair's announcement is one that his Labour Party, and the nation, have been expecting for nearly three years, ever since the prime minister said in 2004 that his third term would be his last.
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1 comment:
Mr Blair, you are a brave and classy gentleman. You stood up to the thuggish world of terrorism and you stood next to your oldest ally. As an American, I appreciate what you have done in the face of danger. While other world leaders were burying their heads in the sand like cowards, you chose to fight like a man. You will go down in history as a courageous world leader in the mold of Winston Churchill. Best of luck in your post politcal endeavors.
Cheeri-O Old Chap!
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