Posted at 3:45 a.m., Thursday, May 10, 2007
Key moments in Blair's decade as prime minister
Associated Press
Key moments in Tony Blair's 10 years as prime minister:
May 1, 1997: Labour Party wins 419 of 659 seats in House of Commons, ending 18 years of Conservative rule and making Blair the youngest prime minister since 1812.
May 8, 1997: Government announces it will set a minimum wage for British workers.
April 10, 1998: Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern sign Good Friday peace pact for Northern Ireland.
Aug. 15, 1998: Irish Republican Army dissidents kill 29 people in explosion in Omagh, Northern Ireland; worst terrorist act in province's history.
March 24, 1999: Britain joins NATO bombing of Kosovo, later sending thousands of peacekeeping troops.
May 20, 2000: Cherie Blair gives birth to a son, the first child born to a serving prime minister since 1848.
June 7, 2001: Labour wins second landslide victory with 412 of 659 seats, but on record low turnout of 59 percent.
Oct. 7, 2001: U.S. and British troops attack Afghanistan to overthrow Taliban and weaken al-Qaida network after Sept. 11 attacks.
Feb. 15, 2003: More than 750,000 people march in London to protest the looming invasion of Iraq.
March 18, 2003: House of Commons approves British support for U.S.-led invasion.
July 18, 2003: David Kelly, a government weapons scientist who had expressed doubts that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, is found dead, an apparent suicide. Blair announces judicial inquiry.
Oct. 19, 2003: Blair, 50, is hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.
May 5, 2005: Blair wins third successive election, but Labour's majority is cut from 167 to 66.
July 6, 2005: London wins bid to stage 2012 summer Olympics.
July 7, 2005: British Muslim suicide bombers kill 52 bus and subway passengers in London.
Nov. 9, 2005: Lawmakers hand Blair his first defeat in a Commons vote, rejecting legislation that would allow police to hold terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge.
March 15, 2006: Blair's authority is undermined as he relies on opposition Conservative votes to pass education legislation.
Sept. 7, 2006: Blair says he will leave office before September 2007.
April 20, 2007: Police conclude investigation of allegations that honors — including seats in the House of Lords and knighthoods — were offered for donations to the Labour and Conservative parties. Blair was questioned twice.
May 8, 2007: Former enemies from Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland join to form a new regional power-sharing government.
May 10, 2007: Blair says he will step down as prime minister on June 27.
