By ALAN COWELL Published: June 28, 2007 LONDON, June 27 — On a day of poignant farewells and sober new promises, Gordon Brown took over Wednesday from Tony Blair as prime minister, offering Britain a pledge to “try my utmost” and declaring, “Now, let the work of change begin.”

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Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday with his wife, Sarah. It was a short move: his previous residence was No. 11. For his part, Mr. Blair moved on swiftly, shedding the leadership with a wisecrack and resigning as a member of Parliament to assume the new mantle of Middle East representative for the so-called quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

The transfer of power, almost brutal in its brevity, signaled the start of the real political contest that will shape Britain’s future, pitting the dour and calculating Mr. Brown against the smooth-talking Conservative leader, David Cameron.

Early life and career before parliament Brown was born in Glasgow. His father, John Ebenezer Brown, was a Church of Scotland minister. Gordon Brown was educated firstly at Kirkcaldy West Primary School, and then, between 1961 and 1967, at Kirkcaldy High School, where he performed well and was placed in an academic fast stream. He was accepted by the University of Edinburgh to study history at the age of 16, making him one of only four university educated Prime Ministers who did not attend Oxford or Cambridge . As a student, he suffered a detached retina, after being kicked in the head[citation needed] during an end-of-term[citation needed] rugby match. He was left blind in his left eye, despite treatment including several operations and lying in a darkened room for weeks at a time. Later at Edinburgh, while playing tennis, he noticed the same symptoms in his right eye. After undergoing experimental surgery at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary the eye was saved, ensuring he did not go totally blind.

Brown graduated from Edinburgh with First Class Honours M.A. in 1972, and stayed on to complete his Ph.D. (which he gained in 1982), titled The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918-29. According to biographer Tom Bower, Brown originally intended his thesis to cover the development of the Labour movement from the seventeenth century onwards, but evolved to more modestly describe "Labour's struggle to establish itself as the alternative to the Conservatives [in the early part of the 20th century]".

In 1972, while still a student, Brown was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh and Chairman of the University Court. Brown served as Rector until 1975, and he also edited The Red Paper on Scotland. Brown served as a temporary lecturer at Edinburgh, before working as a lecturer in Politics at Glasgow College of Technology from 1976 to 1980. He then worked as a journalist at Scottish Television, later serving as current affairs editor until his election to parliament in 1983.

In the 1979 general election, Brown stood for the Edinburgh South constituency, but lost to the Conservative candidate, Michael Ancram.

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Blair and Gordon Brown Blair-Brown deal After the death of John Smith in 1994, both Blair and Gordon Brown were viewed as possible candidates for the leadership of the Labour Party. They had agreed that they would not stand against each other, and Brown had previously been considered to be the more senior of the two men and he understood this to mean that Blair would give way to him. It soon became apparent, however, that Blair had greater public support. This gave rise to the alleged Blair-Brown deal. At certain times, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has reportedly acted as their "marriage guidance counsellor".

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28-June-2007