Sir Tony Blair has written a book on political leadership, to be published in September. The former Prime Minister says he has written the manual for government he wishes he had been able to read when he came to power in 1997.
Sir Tony won office with a landslide election victory as leader of the Labour party in 1997. He served as prime minister of the United Kingdom for ten years, leaving office in 2007.
The book, to be published by Hutchinson Heinemann, will consist of short chapters that draw on examples of political leadership from across the world.
“This book is not an academic work or designed to be comprehensive. It’s a short guide to governing for the busy, aspiring leader,” Sir Tony said.
Since leaving office, Sir Tony has worked as a peace envoy in the Middle East, an adviser to governments from Kuwait to Kazakhstan and as the chair of a global think tank, The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI).
Sir Tony's consultation work for undemocratic governments like that of Nursultan Nazarbeyev in Kazakhstan have garnered criticism.
TBI has over 800 staff in 40 countries. Some reckon Sir Tony has more global influence now, as head of TBI, than he did as head of the UK government.
He has recently been a source of unofficial advice to current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
“Governing a country is in one sense a little like being the national football coach of a football-crazy nation. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone thinks they can do it and do it better than you," said Sir Tony.
“The role of leader is a privilege, of course, but a privilege that is painful. The most painful part? To get things done. You arrive in power as the great persuader. You govern as the CEO. Persuasion is about talking. Governing is about doing.”
“The good news is that there is a wealth of experience and examples – good and bad – to follow or to learn from," he said.
