Gordon Brown – From 10 Downing Street to Global Education Advocate

In October 2019, former prime minister of the United Kingdom and current United Nations special envoy for global education Gordon Brown spoke out to encourage renewed funding to support educational opportunities for children forced to abandon their studies as a result of war and regional conflicts. This “lost generation” of refugee youth, said Brown to a group of journalists at the UN’s New York headquarters, has effectively lost any chance of securing a place in a college or university. Only about one-fifth of them will even be able to complete a high school-level program.

Brown delivered an emotional speech to the UN on the topic, calling this “the challenge of our generation.”

Brown spoke of two children, who at just 12 years old, attempted suicide when faced with the bleak prospect ahead of them in refugee transit camps. He noted that these young people had lost not only practical prospects, but hope itself. He has served as a passionate voice of advocacy for these young people, who come from Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Myanmar, and Venezuela. He has visited refugee camps where none of the children are receiving any formal schooling. Even the informal schooling they do receive is in danger of becoming unfunded.

Through his efforts on behalf of the UN over the past eight years, Gordon Brown has garnered even more respect and admiration since his service as prime minister and Labour Party leader ended. His focus on furthering the causes of social and economic progress in the developing world has been exemplary, particularly his dedication to securing an education for girls and women as one of the major drivers of positive change.

Brown sees education and equality for women as basic human rights, as well as essential components in building stable societies, a sustainable future, and a higher standard of living for all the world’s people. 

His commitment to social justice derives, he has said, from his father, who served as a minister of the Church of Scotland. Brown has described how his father always made people in need feel welcome to come and receive help at the family’s home.  

Commitment to social welfare, the environment, and the economy

Brown was born in 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland. Before becoming prime minister, he served as chancellor of the exchequer for 10 years, the longest term continuously served in that post since the early 19th century.

When he matriculated at the University of Edinburgh at 16 on a scholarship, Brown was the youngest first-year student at the school since World War II. He graduated with honors and became a university lecturer, then took a journalism job at Scottish Television. He earned a doctorate in history, with a dissertation on the history of the Labour Party in Scotland in the early 19th century. 

In 1983 he was elected to Parliament, representing Dunfermline East. He and Tony Blair worked together to update their party’s agenda, leading the transition away from traditional state-directed socialism to a more results-focused direction. In 1987 Brown became a member of the shadow cabinet for his party, serving in trade and treasury posts, and going on to serve as shadow chancellor of the exchequer under both Labour Party leader John Smith and the party’s subsequent leader, Blair. 

The power of the purse for the greater good

Labour’s victory in the 1997 elections installed Blair as prime minister, and Brown embarked on his first term as chancellor of the exchequer. Showing greater skepticism than Blair regarding the UK’s adoption of the euro as a single currency, he started his term by putting forward five foundational economic criteria that the country would need to fulfill before doing so. By 2003, they had not been met. 

Brown moved to increase previous Conservative-era budgeting to cover more expenditures for education, public health (particularly policies aimed at helping children and families), and foreign aid. In 1998 he led a group of finance ministers to put in place a set of new international strategies to help shore up global markets. The UK’s economy under his leadership enjoyed a period of relatively stable growth, and his tenacity and prudence earned him the nickname of “the Iron Chancellor.” 

He made the Bank of England independent, served as governor for the UK of the International Monetary Fund, and became a driving force behind the conclusion of an agreement to significantly increase European aid to the developing world. Brown led the implementation of a global agreement on reducing the effects of climate change and poverty at the 2005 summit of the G-8 group of nations. In addition, his tenure at the exchequer and the IMF included a new policy designed to further environmental sustainability. Notably, this policy stressed Brown’s view that attention to the needs of conservation and the environment were not incompatible with economic growth planning. 

Brown’s short term as prime minister, begun in 2007, earned him vocal criticism from Conservative opponents, who noted the country’s ballooning budget deficit as the UK headed into the global economic crash of 2007. Recession, rising unemployment, and financial scandal in his cabinet contributed to his growing unpopularity. He resigned as PM and Labour leader in 2010 after a Conservative majority victory roundly ended 13 years of Labour rule. 

History may well view Brown’s work on behalf of global education, human equality, and social welfare as his more significant career accomplishments.

Urging global cooperation to solve a crisis

In April 2020, Brown trained the focus of his commitment to humanity, regardless of borders or nationality, on the coronavirus. He told PBS journalist Christiane Amanpour that to solve the problem for everyone, the current global crisis requires a global effort of solidarity rather than an “America first” or “China first” or “Russia first” outlook.

He pointed out that second and third waves of the disease will likely be devastating in developing nations that do not have the resources for social distancing or support to help workers stay home. He urged nations to pledge a united strategy of testing, research, and treatment, as well as a commitment to delivering coronavirus-related aid to the developing world, if humanity is to have any hope of successfully controlling the disease.