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John Major 's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 28 November 1990 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Margaret Thatcher, and ended on 2 May 1997 following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 1997 general election by the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair.
John Major was born on 29 March 1943 at St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in St Helier, Surrey, to Gwen Major ( née Coates, 1905–1970) and former music hall performer Tom Major-Ball (1879–1962), who was 63 years old when Major was born. [3]
Jun 25, 2024 · John Major, British politician and public official who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997. He gained a seat in the House of Commons during the Conservative Party landslide of 1979 and served in that body until his retirement in 2001.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 13, 2017 · Drawing on their latest book, Kevin Hickson and Ben Williams explain why we need to reconsider his premiership. John Major was Prime Minister for six and a half years, one of the longest-serving Premiers in post-war Britain.
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Conservative 1990 to 1997
As Prime Minister Sir John Major oversaw Britain's longest period of continuous economic growth and the beginning of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
29 March 1943, St Helier, Carshalton, Surrey
National Lottery Act 1993: licensed a body to run a National Lottery. Council Tax 1992: replaced the highly unpopular Poll Tax.
In 1994 his government's representatives participated in the negotiation of a cease-fire in Northern Ireland. Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, John Major was appointed a special guardian to Princes William and Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters. A cricket enthusiast, in 2005 he was elected to the...
John Major was born in 1943 in Carshalton, Surrey, but raised in Brixton. Unlike many Prime Ministers of the 20th century, he did not attend university after leaving school at 16.
John Major entered politics at a young age as an active Young Conservative in Brixton and stood as a candidate for Lambeth Council aged only 21, winning the seat and becoming chairman of the Housing Committee. He stood for Parliament twice in 1974 in St Pancras, losing both times before winning Huntingdonshire in 1979.
In 1981 he became a ministerial aide and then a minister himself in 1985. Entering Cabinet in 1987 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he won the admiration and respect of his colleagues due to his ability to keep spending down. He was then promoted to Foreign Secretary in 1989 and Chancellor of the Exchequer soon after that.
Following Margaret Thatcher, John Major became Prime Minister and attempted to make peace between both party and country in the wake of a divisive decade. He took a leading role, alongside US President George HW Bush, in the first Gulf War, and survived an IRA mortar attack on Number 10 during a Cabinet meeting.
He won the 1992 general election, with the Conservatives receiving the highest number of popular votes in history but with a smaller majority of 21, which itself was reduced in by-election defeats during the parliament. This victory was on the back of reversing the unpopular poll tax, Community Charge, which was introduced at the end of the Thatcher government.
After this election, however, his fortunes began to change. Five months into the new parliament, John Major was forced to abandon a leading part of his economic policy: membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Intended to keep inflation low by linking exchange rates to the Deutschmark, the markets forced the UK out after government spent billions trying to buck the market.
Summary of Major's premiership. John Major's mild-mannered style and moderate political stance made him potentially well-placed to act as a conciliatory leader of his party. Conflict raged within the Conservative Party during his leadership, however, especially over the question of how far Britain should become integrated in the European Union ...
Nov 28, 1990 · John Major’s premiership was dominated by the legacy of Margaret Thatcher. He tried to make a country ‘more at ease with itself’, entrenching Thatcherism whilst ameliorating its rough edges. He successfully negotiated the Maastricht Treaty and won a surprising election victory in 1992.
