Sarah Brown (spouse)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown in 2008
Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 27 June 2007 – present
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Cherie Blair
Born	31 October 1963 (1963-10-31) (age 45) Buckinghamshire, England
Birth name	Sarah Macaulay
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Gordon Brown (2000–present)
Children	Jennifer Jane (deceased) (2001–2002) John (born 2003) James Fraser (born 2006)
Residence	10 Downing Street (official) North Queensferry (private)
Alma mater	University of Bristol

Sarah Brown (née Macaulay; born 31 October 1963) is the wife of Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She was also a founding partner of Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications, a public relations company.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Marriage and children 3 Public perception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early life

She was born Sarah Macaulay in Buckinghamshire, England to a middle-class family: her mother was a teacher and her Scottish father worked for publisher Longman. Gordon Brown has been quoted as saying "my wife is from middle England".^[1] She spent most of her early childhood in Tanzania. When she was seven, her parents separated and she with her two younger brothers went to live with their mother and stepfather in North London.

She was educated in North London at Acland Burghley School and Camden School for Girls, and went on to take a psychology degree at the University of Bristol.^[2]

After leaving university, she worked at the brand consultancy Wolff Olins. When she was 30, she went into partnership with her old school friend, Julia Hobsbawm, starting the Hobsbawm Macaulay public relations firm together. The firm landed contracts with the New Statesman, owned by Geoffrey Robinson.^[2]

[edit] Marriage and children

She first met Gordon Brown briefly at a Labour event, but they did not speak at length until 1994 when they shared a flight from London to Scotland for the Scottish Labour Party conference. After this meeting the two began dating.^[1]

The relationship was kept secret until 1997, when the News of the World published a picture of them together in a restaurant in London.^[3] Allegedly, the scene was staged by spin doctor Charlie Whelan and had to be reshot when Brown failed to look suitably loving.^[2]

They were married in a surprise wedding on 3 August 2000 in Brown's home town, North Queensferry, Fife.^[4]

In 2001, she left Hobsbawm Macaulay after finding out she was pregnant with her first child.^[5] On 28 December 2001 she gave birth prematurely to a daughter, Jennifer Jane, who died when she was only 10 days old.^[6][7] In 2002 she founded charity Piggy Bank Kids, which began as a research fund to tackle complications in pregnancy, and has now expanded into a range of projects helping disadvantaged children.

On 17 October 2003 she gave birth to her second child, a boy, John^[8] and then on 17 July 2006 she had another boy, James Fraser.^[9] In November of that year, James Fraser was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.^[10]

She is the patron of domestic violence charity Women's Aid and of Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre, set up in memory of a breast cancer victim, among others.^[11] Brown is also a close friend of writer J.K. Rowling (who donated £1 million to the Labour Party in 2008),^[12] and the two co-authored a children's book for the One Parent Families charity organization.^[13]

[edit] Public perception

Brown has often been compared with Cherie Blair, the wife of her husband's predecessor. Cherie Blair was often portrayed as eccentric and outgoing by the media. Brown has been portrayed in contrast to this as a more reserved, though nonetheless amiable, figure.^[14][15][16]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BBC news - Sarah Brown: The new 'first lady'

Honorary titles
Preceded by Cherie Blair	Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007 – present	Incumbent

v • d • e Gordon Brown Politics Chancellorship · Premiership · Brown Ministry Ideology Brownism · Third Way Party elections 2007 Family Sarah Brown