John Major Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at the life of Sir John Major, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Personal

Birth date: March 29, 1943

Birth place: Carshalton, Surrey

Birth name: John Major

Father: Abraham Thomas Ball, stage name – Tom Major, performer

Mother: Gwen (Coates) Major, dancer

Marriage: Norma (Johnson) Major (1970-present)

Children: James and Elizabeth

Other Facts

Left school at age 16.

Worked at a bank prior to entering politics.

Was appointed financial guardian of Prince William and Prince Harry after Princess Diana’s death.

Timeline

1968-1971 – Member of the Lambeth Borough Council.

1974 – Unsuccessfully runs for a seat in Parliament.

1979 – Wins a seat in Parliament, representing Huntingdonshire.

1983 – Becomes assistant government whip.

1984 – Becomes treasury whip.

1985-1986 – Serves as undersecretary state for social security.

1986 – Is appointed minister of state for social security.

1987-1989 – Serves as chief secretary to the Treasury.

July 1989 – Is appointed foreign secretary.

October 1989 – Is appointed chancellor of the exchequer.

November 28, 1990-1997 – Serves as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

June 1995 – Resigns as the head of the Conservative Party and calls for a parliamentary election to establish leadership of the party. He wins the election.

May 1, 1997 – Loses the election to the Labor Party and Tony Blair.

1999 – “John Major: The Autobiography” is published.

2001 – Retires from Parliament.

2002 – Admits to having a four-year affair with Edwina Currie, a fellow member of Parliament (MP), during the 1980s.

2005 – Is made a Knight of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II.

2007 – Major’s book, “More Than A Game: The Story of Cricket’s Early Years,” is published.

2012 – Major’s book, “My Old Man: A Personal History of Music Hall,” is published.

December 2015 – According to the BBC, Major states that “flirting with leaving the European Union at a time when the whole world is coming together is very dangerous and against our national interests.”

February 27, 2017 – During a speech at Chatham House, Major encourages the UK to avoid what he calls a “hard Brexit” as people in the UK “have been led to expect a future that seems to be unreal and over-optimistic.”

August 30, 2019 – Announces that he intends to join the legal action brought by anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, who wants to stop Boris Johnson from closing down Parliament for five weeks. The following month Major submits written testimony outlining his opposition that Johnson’s act to suspend Parliament was “in fact substantially motivated by a desire to obstruct Parliament from interfering with the Prime Minister’s plans.” In October, the Supreme Court unanimously rules that Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was unlawful.

October 17, 2022 – In a statement to CNN, Major slams the fifth season of Netflix’s “The Crown” for its depictions of his time in office as “damaging and malicious fiction” and “a barrel-load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum — and entirely false — dramatic impact.” Netflix defends the show as a “fictional dramatisation.”

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