Cherie Blair

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This week on One on One, meet lawyer and activist, Cherie Blair.

As the wife of one of Britain’s most prominent prime ministers, she played the part of diplomat, politician, activist, and mother of four.

Now, as a legal advocate and campaigner for justice, she is back on the frontline of human rights.

She was born in Bury, Lancashire, but her parents moved to Liverpool when she was very young.

By the time she had turned eight, her father – actor Tony Booth – left Cherie and her sister, Lyndsey, to be raised by their mother, Gale, and their paternal grandmother, Vera – a staunch Roman Catholic.

Cherie Booth excelled at school and went on to study law at the London School of Economics.

It was in 1976, while studying to become a barrister, that she met Tony Blair and, four years later, they married.

The Blair family soon filled out with three children, but it was the late, unexpected addition in 2000 that made the headlines, when little Leo arrived.

Although Cherie Blair ran unsuccessfully for political office in Kent, it was, of course, her husband who propelled the couple onto the world stage when he became prime minister.

Soon, Cherie Blair was meeting global figures from Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, to Bill Clinton, the former US president, who became a close family friend.

As Tony Blair’s time in office came to an end, his wife, who is a founding member of the Matrix Chambers in London, returned to her legal roots – working at an international level for human rights and practising as a barrister.

After so many years facing the usual ups and downs in public life, the Blairs have managed to keep themselves busy – but Cherie Blair certainly appreciates the extra downtime with her husband.

This episode of One on One aired from Saturday, 23 May, 2009.