Sir John Major

Sir John Major, a British politician, served as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader from 1990 to 1997. In 1979, he was elected as a local councilor for Huntington County. From 1989 to 1990, he served as Foreign Minister and Finance Minister in Mrs. Thatcher's cabinet. After the 2001 British House of Commons election, he faded out of British politics. Since Mrs. Thatcher's death in 2013, Major has become the oldest living former Prime Minister. Major was born in St. Elier, Surrey, England and grew up in Brixton. He initially worked at an insurance brokerage firm and was later hired by Standard Chartered Bank, which quickly promoted him to the position of supervisor in May 1965. Major has been serving as the Private Secretary of Congress since 1981, the Party Whip Assistant since 1983, and the Minister of State for Social Security in 1986. In 1987, Major entered the cabinet as Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance. On July 31, 1989, then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher underwent an unexpected cabinet reshuffle, with Major replacing Sir Harvey as Foreign Minister. After only three months as Foreign Minister, Major resigned from the position in October 1989 when Finance Minister Lawson announced his resignation. He immediately took over as Finance Minister and introduced the 1990 Budget Act. In November 1990, Major succeeded Margaret Thatcher, who was forced to step down, as the British Prime Minister. When he took office as Prime Minister, it was during the 1991 Gulf War and the world economy was also entering a recession. In order to avoid losing to the Labour Party's Kinnock in the upcoming 1992 election, Major held many street campaign events and delivered many powerful speeches on the streets. He led the Conservative Party to four consecutive victories in the election, winning an all-time high of 14 million votes in the 1992 general election. In June 1997, William Hague succeeded Major as the leader of the Conservative Party. After the 2001 British House of Commons election, Major faded out of British politics. In a 1999 BBC poll of 21st century prime ministers, Major ranked 17th. On the 1999 New Year's Day Honorary List, Major was awarded the Order of Honor in recognition of his efforts in the peace process in Northern Ireland. On April 23, 2005, the Queen of England conferred the title of Lord Gardner on Major. Sir Gardner has only 24 seats and holds a high position, which is generally only granted to former British Prime Ministers.