Because of his family’s financial difficulties, John Major dropped out of school when he was 15 years old. When he was 16, he joined the Young Conservatives. Major was an outlier in politics and the Conservative Party since he did not attend an elite private school (also called the Tory party). However, he progressed through the ranks to succeed Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in November 1990.
He was prime minister until May 1997, when the Labour Party regained control of Parliament and Tony Blair became prime minister. Major served in the House of Commons until 2001. In 2005, he was knighted, becoming Sir John Major. He is married to Norma Major, with whom he has a son and a daughter.
When Was John Major Born?
John Major was born on March 29, 1943, in St Helier, Carshalton, Surrey, London, England.
Early Life and Career
Major had an elder brother and sister. His father was born Abraham Thomas Ball but went by the stage name Tom Major throughout his vaudeville and variety performances. Prior to Major’s birth, his father had quit performing in order to work for a garden ornament company. Due to financial issues, Major’s family was forced to sell their home and relocate to an apartment in Brixton in 1955.
Major went to Rutlish Grammar School and Cheam Common Primary School. He thought he didn’t fit in as a student and dropped out the day before his sixteenth birthday. He then looked for work, sometimes unsuccessfully. He was turned down for a bus driver position owing to his height. He earned unemployment payments in 1962-63.
Major started working as a bank clerk in 1965. He was assigned to operate in Nigeria by Standard Chartered Bank. Major was in a catastrophic car accident in 1967 that broke his left kneecap.
Political Career
When he was 16, Major joined the Young Conservatives. He was elected to the Lambeth council in May 1968. He ran unsuccessfully for Parliament in two Labour-dominated areas before being elected to the House of Commons in 1979 from the Huntingdonshire—later Huntingdon—in Cambridgeshire constituency.
Major was appointed Treasury Whip in 1984. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at the time, was impressed by Major and began to encourage his career.
Major was elevated to chief secretary to the Treasury in 1987, and he joined Thatcher’s cabinet. In July 1989, he was appointed Foreign Secretary. Major was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer after only three months in that position.
Years as Prime Minister
Thatcher’s popularity had fallen by November 1990, and she resigned as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister. Major had not campaigned for Thatcher’s resignation; instead, he succeeded her as Conservative Party leader with her backing. On November 28, 1990, he was appointed Prime Minister.
Major was praised for his leadership throughout the 1991 Gulf War. He struck a deal in December 1991 that gave the United Kingdom the option of not joining the European Union’s common currency. To Thatcher’s chagrin, Major reversed an unpopular “poll tax” imposed by Thatcher.
Major called an election for the next month in March 1992. Despite the ongoing economic downturn, the Conservative Party exceeded expectations on April 9 by winning a narrow majority of seats in Parliament. With this victory, Major remained Prime Minister.
Major’s government supported Northern Ireland ceasefire talks and passed the National Lottery Act. However, his tenure as Prime Minister was marred by the sexual and financial scandals that engulfed several Cabinet members. His regime was viewed as embodying “Tory sleaze.”
Major was required to hold another national election within five years after the last one. On May 1, 1997, the more liberal Labour Party won a landslide victory in Parliament. Tony Blair, the Labour Party’s leader, went on to become Prime Minister.
Career After Serving as Prime Minister
Despite the fact that Labour secured a majority of seats in Parliament after the 1997 election, Major was re-elected. He resigned as leader of the Conservative Party but remained in Parliament until 2001. He returned to business after retiring, serving on boards and as the Carlyle Group’s head of European operations.
Major attacked the wealthy and privately educated for wielding disproportionate power in 2013. He also backed gay marriage legalization.
In 2016, the United Kingdom held a national referendum to determine whether the country should remain a member of the European Union. Major was a member of the failed “Remain” campaign, which fought against leaving the EU.
Personal Life
In 1970, Major married Norma Johnson. James and Elizabeth were the couple’s two children.
Major had an affair with Edwina Currie, a fellow Conservative MP, from 1984 to 1988, according to reports in 2002. In a statement, he stated that his wife had forgiven him. “It is the one event in my life of which I am most ashamed,” he added.
In 1999, Major published a well-received autobiography. He has also written a book about the game of cricket.
John Major and ‘The Crown’
Major is a character played by Jonny Lee Miller in Netflix’s “The Crown” fifth season. Major and Prince Charles are said to be discussing the prospect of compelling Queen Elizabeth II to abdicate this season.
The series has been dubbed a “barrel-load of drivel” by Major. “There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales concerning any prospective abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II,” a representative for Major claimed in October 2022.