http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctyaleblair0822.artaug22,0,2462998.story
Tony Blair's Son To Attend Yale
Reportedly Receiving Full Scholarship Of $92,000 Toward Masters In
International Relations
By KIM MARTINEAU
Courant Staff Writer
August 22 2006
NEW HAVEN -- After educating four generations of the Bush family, Yale
is about to get its first Blair. The son of the British Prime Minister
Tony Blair is bound for New Haven this fall, to study for a masters
degree in international relations.
Euan Blair turned down Harvard and Princeton after Yale offered him a
$92,000, full-tuition scholarship, the British press has reported.
Blair, 22, did his undergraduate work at Bristol University in England,
where he studied ancient history and left an undistinguished academic
record. Blair ventured into American politics this past spring, as an
unpaid intern on Capitol Hill but ditched his internship after two
weeks, "bored" by his duties opening mail and making photocopies,
according to Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper.
Euan Blair's upcoming arrival in New Haven comes amid flagging support
for his father in Britain, a country bitterly divided by the war in
Iraq. The prime minister has been criticized for his loyalty to
President Bush and for overstating the reasons to join the American-led
war. Scholars suggest Euan Blair picked a good time to bolt.
"It's been a downhill slide for his Dad," said Jay Winter, a professor
in British history at Yale. "The assumption of most of his
contemporaries is that his father has ruined the Labor Party. Getting
out of the country is probably a very good thing."
Rivals of Tony Blair have accused him of pulling strings to get his son
into a top American school, one that educated the Bushes, Clintons and
other household names in American politics. Did Euan Blair get into
Yale by his own steam or through family connections? It's the same
question Americans asked during the past two elections. Did George W.
Bush get into Yale, then Harvard, by his own talent and pluck or did he
ride his father's coattails?
"I believe in merit," said Norman Baker, a member of the British
Parliament and the oppositional Liberal-Democrat Party. "The better the
institution, the higher the hurdle should be."
He said Yale should address Euan Blair's qualifications to reassure the
public he has received no special favors and "has been treated like
everyone else."
Apart from confirming that Blair is coming, Yale has declined to
discuss any aspect of Blair's application or financial aid package,
citing a need to protect student privacy. Up to half of the 30 or so
students admitted to the program each year receive some form of
"merit-based" tuition aid, said Marilyn Wilkes, a spokeswoman for The
MacMillan Center which oversees the program. Graduates of the two-year
program have gone on to careers in government, international non-profit
work and banking.
Rumors that Blair was considering Yale spread through the department
last spring. One day, Blair showed up with a batch of admitted students
and sat in on a "Guerrilla Warfare" class. The other students figured
out his identity after pulling his picture off the Web.
"He made some insightful comments," said Jonathan Baum, a graduate who
now works as a consultant for a non-profit agency. "I'm sure he'll be a
valuable addition to the program."
Though Tony Blair was elected to a historic third term last year, he
received the lowest share of the vote for a ruling party in modern
times, the BBC reported. Blair says he won't run again, prompting
speculation about what he'll do next. He's close friends with former
President Clinton and Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and one scenario
envisioned by the British press has Blair working for the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, on AIDS or global warming.
Yale may have wooed Euan, Blair's oldest son, away from schools with
stronger programs in international affairs - Harvard and Princeton - by
offering more money. The Blairs own several properties, including a
London townhouse, and may be short on cash.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Monday the prime minister had no
comment and rarely releases details about his children.
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