BBC: Tony Blair has always stood out from the crowd.
At school he drove his teachers to distraction, constantly questioning their authority. At university, he acted out his rock star fantasies as the lead singer of a band.
Few at that stage would have predicted a career in the sober world of politics, even though Blair's charisma and ability to charm people were evident from an early age.
The story of his rise to power is certainly not a rags to riches tale - he was born with every advantage in life - but it is no less remarkable for that.
It is the story of how a middle class, privately-educated barrister - the son of a would-be Tory MP - went on to become the most successful leader in the history of the Labour Party, profoundly changing it and the country in the process.
And how a man once seen as a lightweight - preoccupied with his own image and popularity - became one of the most powerful and controversial figures on the world stage. The Tony Blair story (more)
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Tony Blair's time at the top
Mark Alexander
