Labour peer, strategist and corporate adviser Philip Gould has died aged 61 after a battle against cancer.
The New Labour architect, who was recruited to the party in the 1980s by Peter Mandelson, was seen as crucial to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's three election victories.
Paying tribute, Mr Blair said Lord Gould had been a "huge part of the renaissance of the Labour Party".
"He was my guide and mentor, a wise head, a brilliant mind," he said.
Lord Gould, a former advertising executive, met Mr Mandelson - then Labour's communications director - at a dinner party in 1985 and was invited to help reshape the party's presentation.
As well as advising then leader Neil Kinnock and becoming one of Mr Blair's most influential advisers, he also told Gordon Brown before he became prime minister that he needed to be "a powerful, muscular modernisation politician".
In his tribute, Mr Blair said his former adviser "was always a constant advocate for the British people, their hopes and anxieties", and a man whose "political contribution was immense".
He added: "But then as his illness gripped him, he became something more. In facing death, he grew emotionally and spiritually into this remarkable witness to life's meaning and purpose.
"No-one who saw him in those last months was unchanged by him. And the bond between him and his wonderful family was a joy to see. I feel very proud and privileged to have known him and to have been his friend."
Lord Gould, who died at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London on Sunday, had undergone treatment for cancer of the oesophagus, but the illness later recurred.
He is survived by wife Gail Rebuck and two daughters, Georgia and Grace.
Details of a funeral service, to be held in London, will be announced later, the family said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-15615540
bbc world news africa bbc world news america bbc world news bbc world service bbc world news countdown bbc world news ethiopia
No comments:
Post a Comment